Rewriting my Future (Reading Bloodlines)
by CherrySlushLover
Summary: Sydney Sage meets the charming Adrian Ivashkov under not-so charming circumstances. He owns a book called Bloodlines, which seems to be about a strange world where vampires, magic and love exist... and they're characters in it. But Adrian isn't a vampire, Sydney isn't an Alchemist, so what can it mean? Sydney fears...FULL SUMMARY INSIDE!
1. Chapter 1

**Summary:**

_**Sydney Sage meets the charming Adrian Ivashkov under not-so charming circumstances. He owns a book called Bloodlines, which seems to be about a strange world where vampires, magic and love exist... and they're characters in it. But Adrian isn't a vampire, Sydney isn't an Alchemist, so what can it mean? Sydney fears that there may be more truth in the book than they know, but she knows that if Adrian finds out her suspicions, he will never see her in the same light again. Lies, deceit, love, frustration... the usual Sydrian story!**_

**This is an All Human story, but it is supernatural too...try to figure out why that is from the summary!**

**Vampire Princess33 has written chapters 2 and 4! :D**

**A/N: The first chapter of this story is dedicated to SydrianRock, who told me she wanted a story where the Bloodlines cast read Bloodlines. That's already being done, so I added a twist: they're all human!**

**And Zoe and Jill are Sydney's younger sisters!**

**Be prepared to cry, and I promise that this isn't going to be boring… it is going to be full of twists!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything, except the plot.**

**Rose's POV**

"Rose, you will not believe what just happened!" Lissa shrieked into the phone.

I gingerly held it away from my ear and said sarcastically, "I just lost my hearing?"

"No! I was in the library, and I saw this book with a picture of Adrian on it. Naturally, I was curious, because of you, so I checked it out. It was like it was actually about him, and you had just broken his heart!"

I ate a chocolate in three quick bites and relished every one; Dimitri wasn't here to say I couldn't. My heart clenched when I thought of him, but I angrily pushed my feelings away. There was no use crying about him now.

"Wait, slow down. Just to clarify, you read a book that was about Adrian," I said dubiously, smoothly cutting through her frenzied talking. She never really got into a flap about anything, so this must have been a big deal.

"Yes, and it was from Sydney's point of view!"

"Sydney?" I repeated, bewildered. Who was Sydney and why was she getting heavy with my boyfriend? I immediately felt an instant dislike to her, and then realized that she wasn't even real. So what if I had just been thinking about Dimitri… again? But no matter how much I tried to convince myself it didn't matter, I knew it did. I was with Adrian, and he was there for me, not Dimitri.

"It's too much to explain over the phone," she sighed. "I'm coming over to show you."

Which was why I found myself knocking on Adrian's door an hour later demanding to know why he hadn't told me that he was in love with someone else.

But obviously he had no idea what I was on about because he 'is completely in love with me and doesn't everything I do for you prove that?' I had forgotten the book and therefore all evidence with Lissa, and that wasn't really instilling Adrian's trust in my ludicrous-sounding statement.

**Sydney's POV**

I waited impatiently for Jill and Zoe's return, trying to distract myself with homework and coffee. It always worked, but today was an exception. I had no idea why I was so worried, but it was like I just knew something bad was going to happen. The worst thing was definitely the fact that neither was answering their phone. Were they avoiding me, and if they were, what was the reason?

"Okay Sydney, you're acting like their mum now. Calm down. They're fine," I muttered to myself. But since mum and dad were out of the country and they had left me in charge, I was their guardian. I wanted to leave and look for them myself, but I knew there was no point in doing that.

So instead, I settled for staring at my phone's screen and the door alternately.

When the door burst open, I stood immediately. Jill entered first, followed by a ridiculously handsome man.

I stared at him wordlessly until he said, "Are you going to just stand there gawping at me trying to understand my sheer brilliance? Because there's no point- it'll take too long."

I rolled my eyes. Everything about him screamed arrogance, from the way he was standing to the small smirk playing on his lips.

I wasn't even going to honour that statement with a reply.

Where was Zoe? Adrian shut the door behind him, but Zoe still wasn't here. My confusion and dread increased and I turned immediately to Jill.

"Are you alright?" I said, startled by her pale complexion. She was usually pale, but at the moment, she almost looked like she was… in shock.

I made her sit on the sofa and she sunk back into the cushions, using one to cover her face with. I whispered- with my back to the stranger in my house, "What happened, Jill? What did he do to you?"

Jill hiccupped and laughed. "Adrian?"

So that's what his name was. I threw a dark look at him over my shoulder, which just made his grin widen.

"He saved my life, Sydney," she said quietly. "But Zoe didn't survive."

My arms tightened protectively around her, but I didn't say anything. I needed to have details first- then I could deal with the extent of the problem. I needed to know what he had saved her from, and I hadn't really caught the last part. I had just heard Zoe's name. Had they had a falling out? They were twins and had always been extremely close- each other's best friends. There had been times when I had been slightly envious of their closeness; I had always seemed to be the odd one out. If they had had an argument, it was a big deal. But it was nothing that couldn't be sorted out, as long as she came home.

Jill started shaking violently, her body heaving with the severity of her sobs. I looked over at Adrian, who seemed just as puzzled as I was.

"Adrian saved me! Why didn't he save Zoe instead? She deserved to live more than me!"

My breath came too quickly.

Gasp, gasp, gasp.

It wasn't what I thought it was I tried to convince myself. But I knew deep down that that was what the earlier feeling I had had was about.

"Zoe? Who's Zoe?" Adrian said urgently.

"My sister, my friend, my…"

Adrian sat next to me and said quickly, ""Jill, was there someone else in that car? I need to know! Did I kill someone? Am I a murderer?"

His voice was worried and frantic. I couldn't seem to get a grasp on what was happening. It was as though life was carrying on around me, whilst I stayed frozen.

"She was in the taxi with me… we were going to Waida's party," she suddenly looked up, her face streaked with tears and blotchy. "Where is she? Where is she?"

"She's in the hospital probably, waiting for us to go down." I nodded, trying to convince myself more than her. "We'll go there now."

We ran to Latte, Adrian too. No one spoke on the journey, or when we reached the hospital.

The nurse at reception quickly led me into the emergency room. "Is this who you're looking for? She was involved in an accident, but we don't know who her family is."

I ran over to the bed and brushed Zoe's hair out of her face with trembling fingers. Her entire body was covered in various tubes and doctors rushed around, trying to sort everything out.

I knew even before the doctor told me that there was no hope. They wouldn't have let us in otherwise.

"She's got only a few minutes left," he said gently. "I'm so sorry."

I still couldn't cry; I just felt numb. Her eyelids flickered and I slipped my hand in hers, Jill holding her other hand. Adrian looked on, his eyes just staring blankly at Zoe's mangled body.

He hadn't known Zoe was inside.

"I should've gone, not you, Zoe. You have so much more to give to everyone," Jill sobbed quietly.

"I'm sorry I wasn't there."

"But you're here now," Zoe whispered. "I love you."

Those were her last words. Zoe, Jill, and I were all holding hands when she passed, a final promise of love to each other.

A doctor closed her eyes, and announced and we all watched her heart flat line. "Time of death, six twenty four."

We were told to wait in the room adjoining Zoe's whilst they sorted a few things out, and I tried desperately not to think about what things. Images of Zoe's limp body floated through my mind and yet, a single tear did no fall from my eyes. Adrian at a little to the side, leaving us to grieve alone, even though it was clear he too was upset. He was the reason Jill was still here with me, and not inside with Zoe. Jill pulled him to the chair next to her and placed her hand in his. Adrian looked utterly shocked at that display, but he relaxed after a while. His eyes were filled with unshed tears and I knew he was holding them back, whereas I couldn't seem to shed a single one.

I couldn't imagine a future without Zoe and Jill by my side, without them laughing around the house, throwing my homework to each other, teasing me. Celebrating their birthday and making sure they both had presents they would be happy with. Zoe would never have another birthday, would never laugh again, would never get to eat her favourite chocolate-glazed doughnuts. I had always shuddered at the thought of all those calories and had been mocked mercilessly about it by her. She had sneaked them into my school bag, my bedroom and even in one of my homework books! I had had to buy a new one, because of all the chocolate smeared all over it.

"Mum," Jill said. I froze. She had no idea what had happened.

"She doesn't know."

I searched my pockets frantically, trying to find my phone. I remembered leaving it on the sofa.

Adrian was already holding out his phone to me and I took it gratefully and dialed the number. I hoped mum picked it up. She answered straightaway. "Hello, Mrs Sage speaking."

I pulled it away from my ear, it was on loudspeaker. " Mum, it's Sydney. I, Zoe…"

"What's happened?" she said hastily. I could feel her concern and I hated to be the one to tell her. But I had too.

"Mum, Zoe… had a car accident. And she's… she's been declared as- gone."

Mum grew silent and I could hear her suddenly rapid breathing. She sobbed loudly, uncontrollably.

And the tears that hadn't come earlier came pouring profusely down, unable to be stopped any longer.

"I'm coming, my babies. I'm coming." She hung up, and I turned my face away from Jill's, not wanting her to see me like this. She needed support.

Adrian looked at me and hesitated, "Wait, your name's Sydney… Sydney Sage."

**This chapter is quite sad, but this will only continue for a couple more chapters, there's lots of humour planned and lots of Sydrian...**

**The storyline will probably kick in at around chapter 5!**

**vampire princess33 is writing the next chapter and I promise, it will be amazing! :D**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: This chapter has been written by vampire princess33...**

**This chapter is dedicated to channyobsessedoct2, for her/his lovely review! **

**I don't want to be sexist! :)**

**Disclaimer: We only own the plot!**

**Adrian's POV**

I stood before the large mirror, feeling something uneasy unraveling in the pit of my stomach. I was wearing a pair of dark jeans and a white shirt that showed off perfectly the lithe muscles of my chest, or at least that was what Rose had once told me, but after a moment of brief consideration, I grabbed a black tie hanging from a nearby chair, tying it hastily up before I could change my mind.

I turned my attention to the mirror once again, mouthing a wordless curse for my lack of knowledge for these kind of things. My reflection stared seriously back at me, a deep furrow of worry appearing between my eyebrows and I sighed in frustation.

I sure didn't know a thing about what I should or should not do during tonight's dinner, but eventually I decided that my worrying over the detail was justifiable this time.

One was not invited every day for dinner because he saved a girl from a car accident, at the same time letting said girl's twin sister die due to his lack of awareness.

At that thought, my face contorted slightly in what could be only interpreted as pain, and for once I was not able to find something amusing about the current situation. I felt like I could really use some of my usual sarcasm at the moment, but unfortunately I seemed to be drained of it and not even a drink could drag me out of my dark mood.

In fact, I would also appreciate someone telling me that I didn't have to worry about going over to the Sage's house for dinner, and when I had a problem, no matter of what kind, my usual option would be to consult Rose.

However, my girfriend was mad at me when I had told her that the one who had invited me for dinner, or to be more accurate her sister, was named Sydney Sage. Rose had been rambling all day, and the day before that about a book called Bloodlines, insisting that the main male character was exactly like me, sharing not only my personality, but also my name. The fact that the female protagonist was named Sydney Sage and that she eventually ended up with the Adrian from the book didn't help my lately already strained relationship with Rose.

I darted a hopeful look at a bottle of whiskey seated atop the table, the amber liquid as inviting as a water of glass in a day in the dessert, but then I forced myself to look away.

Jill had just lost her sister and was going through hell, and yet she had tried to be cheerful for my sake, saying that it wasn't my fault that Zoe was gone and most surprising of all managing to do what Rose couldn't: comfort me when clearly she was the one needing someone to console her, even though it was just in a sisterly way and nothing more.

She had even invited me to her house for dinner, earning Sydney's blunt dissaproval, and I couldn't bear to let her down by turning up at her porch drunk and as insensitive as I could get.

The thought of Jill acting like the little sister I never had somehow managed to help me get a better grip of myself, but it also brought back the memory of the car accident. It was only two days ago, but to me it felt like a whole lifetime before. I felt like I was a completely different person then, like witnessing the car accident and saving Jill had knocked some sense into the selfish, vain, never taking anything seriously person I had been before.

_Flashback_

I walked down the street, my polished, hundred-dollar boots going before me on the pavement in every long, elegant stride. I passed a store selling sunglasses and then paused, half-turning my head to glance at the shop window with interest.

The first thing I saw was my reflection, and that made me poise my body so that I looked like a model and more specifically, a particularly handsome one.

I slightly tilted my head to one side and examined the way my face reflected on the shop window.

Bright deep emerald eyes stared back at me, and I remembered what someone had told once told me, that those eyes could make every woman fall uncondtionally for me and then start asking questions. My chestnut-brown hair fell carelessly on my forehead, looking as messy as if I had just got up from bed after a very long night, and my lips lifted upwards at the thought that it had taken me thirty whole minutes before the mirror to make it look that way.

A fifteen-year-old girl with light brown hair scraped up in a ponytail was walking hurriedly on the pavement, with a girl looking very much alike her like only twins do, and when her somewhat timid eyes met with my eyes on the shop window, she blushed at least three shades darker than her pale skinned complexion and looked fiercely away as if she was caught doing something wrong.

I felt amused and allowed myself another of my brilliant smiles which I knew affected women the most.

I would have to be an ignorant moron not to know the effect I had on others, and if there was something I was not, it was ignorant. I was Adrian Ivashkov, the notorious playboy that never abided by the rules and never spent too much time with only one woman- well, except for Rose, but what I had with Rose was something special and I wasn't willing to talk about it.

I was heartbreakingly handsome and drop-dead-gorgeous and rich, or at least my old man was rich.

Which reminded me.

There they were, the silver pair of Ray-bans I had seen in a showcase of the shop and made me stop in the first place. I had a bunch of money with me, but most importantly I had my father's debit card.

I had wanted to buy Rose a special present for our six-month anniversary and Nathan Ivashkov hadn't even realised his card had gone missing from his wallet this morning- not that he was likely to understand that I had used it if I put it back into its place when I finished with my shopping.

Nothing gave me greater pleasure than skimming my old man, and now I was so amused that I was able to overcome Rose's irrational worries that I was in love with someone else, which turned out to be a fictional character of all things, when she had come knocking at my house's door earlier that morning.

I was ready to walk into the store when I heard the appaling sound of tires schreeching on the tarmac and the shocked screams and collective gasps of a crowd nearby. I forgot about the sunglasses all at once as I ran towards the source of the sound, not knowing what I would do when I got there, but thinking that I should at least try and help in every way I could.

A crows was gathered in the next avenue that only grew bigger with every passing moment. There were people everywhere and the sun was burning so brightly in the sky, reflecting on the hot tarmac that I couldn't discern the cause of this turmoil around me.

Then, I spotted it. A taxi cab was stopped in the middle of the road, black marks of its tires being the evidence for forced change of root, smoke and flames errupting from its engine. The car was soon on fire and the by standers took several steps backwards, but none of them left. They all bore similar expressions of discomfort, shock and pity.

''The driver cannot have survived the explotion, but, poor girl, I don't think she will make it either.'' I heard a woman saying and shaking her head with sympathy, and a chill ran down my spine. There was someone else in the car, someone who still had a chance, no matter how small it was, that she was still alive.

I wanted to yell to the people around me to do something, or to call for help even though I was sure the fire department and several police cars were on their way. I wanted to do something; anything except standing there and letting it happen without being able to do anything to prevent it.

And then I did. I pushed my way through the crowd, ignoring the annoyed or surprised exclaims, and then I ran towards the taxi without thinking about what would happen tp me. All I wanted was to make sure the girl trapped inside the burning car had at least one chance to survive, something that the other bystanders seemed to deny her. I wasn't thinking about the consequences, and at the end of the day, I was glad that I did it.

I broke the window of the car's backseat with my elbow, barely feeling the glass shattering on my feet. The girl inside was still alive, slamming her fists against the car's door and struggling to breath through the dense smoke that made my lungs ache with every inhalation. She was the same girl that had scurried past me earlier, and I wasn't thinking about the other girl, presumably her twin sister, I had seen following her. If I had been able to connect the dots in the state of frenzy that reigned not only around me, but inside me, too, I would have tried to help both girls. If I was paying more attention, maybe I would have seen the girl's green eyes begging me silently to let go of her and help her sister.

Instead, I wrapped a strong arm around the green-eyed girl's waist and pulled her out of the car's window, running back to safety with her little body limp in my arms. She was breathing hard and looked exhausted, but except for some bruises and small cuts on her hands, she was relatively unscathed. She looked at me, her eyes bright and brimming with tears, and when she leaned gratefully against my chest, seeking for some kind of solidity and reassurance that she was safe, I held her, feeling deep within me that the decision I had taken to save her was worth it and I would have done it again and again if I had the chance.

''Thank you." She coughed.

"What's your name?" I asked gently.

"My name's Jill. My sister, Zoe...'' she said, and I let her cling onto me as much as she liked as I walked her home.

"I'll get you home, don't worry. Your sister will be there."

"She will? Thank you."

A warmth spread within me as a result of her plain words of thanks, and my thoughts were filled with a feeling I had never experienced before, a feeling stemming from the knowledge that I was the reason Jill was still alive. Another detached part of my brain informed me that there was a girl named Jill in the book Rose told me about, but these thoughts were soon silenced and washed away by guilt as, later at Jill's house I learnt that I had failed to save her sister.

_End of Flashback_

My hands unconsciously clenched the soft silk of my tie into fists that I had to remind myself to release. This was not going to be easy, but I was determined that I would at least try before I accepted defeat.

With a wave of my hand, I dismissed the memory of the accident, but nevertheless, I was not able to shake off my worries.

Let's just get over with it. After all, the dinner already promised to be disastrous, I thought.

Looking longingly at the bottle of spirit that would be a welcome distraction at the moment, I grabbed my coat and got out of my house.

**Hope you enjoyed it! :D**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I (CherrySlushLover) wrote this chapter.**

**This chapter is dedicated to UndertheAlchemis; I'm so glad you think so! I hope you enjoy this chapter...**

**And just to clarify, Rose doesn't know that Zoe's dead, which is why she isn't being very sympathetic. Thank you for bringing that to mind, I Know I'm a Dreamer! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

**Sydney's POV**

I twisted my hair into a bun and slowly walked downstairs. I had tried to cover my red eyes with a tiny bit of eyeliner and mascara, after Jill suggested it, but it just made it look so much more worse. I had been mortified that Jill had noticed I was crying, and I had to ensure that I was strong enough for both of us. Mum was flying over tonight and would be here tomorrow. Dad had said he had business to attend to. I had felt like screaming at him,

"What business could be more important than attending your own daughter's funeral?"

But he hadn't answered any of my calls.

I turned my concentration onto the vegetables that I was steaming; just because we were all in mourning, it didn't mean that everyone had to crazy eating. Jill was still upstairs and I didn't call her downstairs, knowing she would want to get herself together before Adrian arrived. So far, everything still seemed unrealistic, as though Zoe was going to walk through the door any second, claiming that we had fallen hard for her joke.

The doorbell rang and I turned off the cooker and washed my hands methodically before I answered the door to Adrian. He didn't say anything and neither did I. I just moved aside so he could walk in.

Jill came down in that moment and hugged Adrian as soon as she saw him. Adrian seemed slightly surprised, but returned the hug nonetheless. I noticed he was surprised whenever Jill hugged him or smiled at him. He looked immensely relieved though, with only a tiny bit of tension visible from the slight tightening of his green eyes.

He followed me into the dining room and took a place opposite me. Zoe sat beside me. No one said anything. Just as I was about to mention the weather to break the awful silence, Adrian spoke. "I'm sorry I didn't save her." he said quietly.

It was the first time either of us had mentioned the... accident since the hospital, and I could tell Adrian had been sleeping just as well of me, which meant he had probably been getting a couple of hours a night. I felt a surge of sympathy for him; his hair was ruffled slightly like he hadn't really put his heart into getting dressed properly. It was one thing for us to mourn; we were her family. But he had been dragged into this unwillingly, he felt guilty that he hadn't saved Zoe. But it was because of him that I still had Jill next to me.

Afraid of losing my control over my emotions, I made my way to the kitchen and plated up the food. I grabbed a diet coke for myself and two cokes for Adrian and Jill.

When I returned to the dining room, they were in deep conversation. Jill looked like she was about to cry again and Adrian was patting her back. She wiped her eyes as soon as I walked in. I wished she felt a lot more open with me, but I knew that was next to impossible. I wasn't exactly the most 'open' person myself.

I placed them gently down on the table; Adrian raised his eyes at the meal but otherwise didn't comment. We ate in awkward silence; I say eat, what I really meant was pick at the food.

Adrian's phone was constantly going off and he excused himself the first four times to read it under the table, but the next fifty, he just read, a slight frown on his face. He was getting slowly irritated, though I had no idea how I knew that.

When his phone buzzed again, my patience snapped. "Something important?"

He smirked slightly. "My girlfriends clearly can't do without me."

I raised my eyebrows at girlfriends and didn't bother replying. But as soon as he said it, the smirk dropped and he looked at his coke, as though he was wishing it were something stronger, like alcohol.

Appreciating his efforts to lighten the morbid atmosphere for Jill's sake, despite how he tried to do it, I said, "What are you studying in college?"

It wasn't the best start to a conversation, but it was the best I had.

For now.

"I'm doing art. The teacher saw me and just thought, 'wow, this guy needs to appreciate how good he looks. He's like a piece of art. And then she enrolled me in her class."

Jill smiled a little at that and Adrian grinned back, triumphant that he'd reached his aim. He was trying to make Jill feel a bit better.

I tapped my fingers against the table and moved the rice around my plate. There was a dangerous chance of us falling into awkward silence again. I needed to make an effort for Jill's sake. But Adrian did that for me.

"What's for dessert?" Adrian asked.

"Sydney doesn't eat dessert. She doesn't eat anything unhealthy." Jill smiled slowly.

"Well, I can get some for us if you have no exception, Jailbait."

Jill had a bit more life in her now and she nodded enthusiastically. "Can I come with you?"

She didn't even say anything about her ridiculous nickname. "Sure. We'll be back in a bit Sage."

I stared at his back open-mouthed. The door shut behind them, the sound echoing in the empty house. I mutely cleared away the plates and sat quietly in the dark sitting room when I was done.

Jill was happier, and that was good, so why did I feel so rubbish?

I answered my own question.

It was because Adrian was the one making her happy, not me.

**Adrian's POV**

Jill fiddled with the necklace at her neck, a crystal heart pendant. She was frowning and looking out the window, her face scrunched up like she was trying hard not to cry.

"Did you and Zoe have the same necklace?" She obviously cherished it a lot.

She nodded but otherwise didn't say anything. "I don't blame you." She said quietly.

"It wasn't your fault," she continued. "You didn't even know and no one even tried to help us."

I stared at her wordlessly then regained my senses. She was so much like the Jill in the book. But that obviously didn't mean anything. It was just a coincidence. Wasn't it?

I climbed out the car and waited for Jill at the sidewalk. I shoved my hands deep into my pockets and walked into the café. "What flavour gelato?"

I took care not to call her Jailbait again; that was what the Adrian in the book called Jill. And I had accidently called Sydney, Sage too. As if on cue, Rose texted me again. I smiled slightly, remembering Sage's earlier reaction to her texts and my comment. God, what was wrong with me?

My fingers slipped over the cigarette packet in my pocket and I forced myself not to take one. I was dying for a drink too, but I wasn't going to do that to Jill or Sage, they didn't deserve this, and no matter how professional and unaffected Sage tried to act, I knew she was hurting.

"Two gelatos please and a cherry slush. Do you want one?"

"No thanks; gelato's fine." Jill replied.

The waitress smiled coyly at me and popped the bubble gum in her mouth. "Anything else?" she said, tucking the hair behind her ear.

"No thanks Liz." I said, reading her nametag.

"Just let me know if you do Okay, I'll sort something out."

"I don't think I'll change my mind." I said quickly, reading Jill's shocked face.

I paid and grabbed everything off the counter, without a backwards glance. I couldn't remember the last time I had ignored a girl like that; I hadn't been with anyone, I was with Rose. But I hadn't ever turned someone down so abruptly like that either.

The drive back to the house was quiet, apart from a few comments I had made to lighten Jill's mood. When I said, "You're insulting me Jill. No one has ever sat in my company with a face like that on them. They're just too amazed at my aura of brilliantness."

She did smile a bit, but it was immediately replaced by the haunted look she had been wearing for most of the journey. "I keep thinking about what she would be doing if she was still here."

"What would she be doing?"

"She would probably be checking you out." Jill grinned.

I smirked at that and checked my self out in the rear view mirror for good measure. "I look pretty good, don't I Zoe?"

Jill laughed. "She says you do, and don't you know it."

"I know," I said, deadpan. "I heard her."

"Of course, I know it. I would be blind not to notice when I look in the mirror everyday."

"Several times everyday."

"Does it matter how many times?"

"Clearly, you need convincing constantly that you look good."

"No, it's not that," I said mock-seriously. "What's the point of being this gorgeous if you can't appreciate it?"

"The girl in the café certainly appreciated it." Zoe- I mean Jill, said lightly.

"I wonder if Sage appreciates it." As soon as I said it, I mentally rebuked myself.

'What are you doing Ivashkov? You can't say things like that, you're going out with Rose, for God's sake.'

'I was only joking.' I argued back.

"Are you hitting on my sister?" Jill joked lightly.

"No, I've got a girlfriend!" I said, slightly angry with myself that I had even said that.

"Oh." Jill said rather sadly.

I looked at her.

"Zoe said she thinks you would make a pretty good boyfriend."

I laughed at that and she joined in. Just as we were about to enter the house, she whispered, "Thank you Adrian. Your foolishness actually made me remember Zoe when she was laughing with me. Not when she was all broken in that car…" she faded off.

She gulped, holding back her tears- for my sake. "Hey, crying doesn't make you weak."

"No, but Zoe would've shouted at me for being upset over her. She would tell me that I had to party hard, on her behalf too."

"That must be a lot of partying. Nothing I'm a stranger too. I'll have to take half that burden off you."

"Is that an excuse to party?"

"Sure is."

"You're sill, did you know that?" she said, scrutinising me.

"It's all part of the charm."

"The irresistible charm of Adrian Ivashkov, huh? I've seen it and it's definitely overrated."

"Not what my girlfriend says." I said, rather proudly. Despite Rose still being slightly in love with Dimitri, she was giving me a chance and I was sure she was falling for me too. She was getting pretty jealous about a fictional character so I think it was really going somewhere. I quickly texted her to tell her I loved her and I wasn't going to betray her for Sydney because of that, and switched off my phone.

Jill raised her eyebrows questioningly. "Avoiding said girlfriend?"

She was observant. And was I avoiding Rose? Was it because Sage had got annoyed at her constant texts earlier? No, I told myself. It was because Zoe was dead, and Rose's small worries weren't that important compared to how Jill and Sage were feeling. I was the reason behind their sorrow, whatever they tried to convince me. I hadn't saved her, and I should've. If I had, she would've been here, saying all the comments that Jill had said on her behalf, herself.

And I would have never intruded on their lives.

But it hadn't happened that way, and however desperately I tried to change that fact, it wasn't going to work. Our lives were now connected, and there was nothing either of us could do about that.

Just like the way Sydney Sage had changed Adrian's life in the book.

But that was a totally different fictional story. It had no connection whatsoever to us. That's what I tried to convince myself anyway.

I didn't visit Rose that night.

**A/N: I wasn't too sure of this chapter, but I think the point I was trying to make did come across…**

**Anyway, what did you think? I couldn't stop myself from including the title of my other story. ;D**

**Was it realistic; were any characters OOC? Please don't hesitate to tell me if they were that's the only way I can improve! :]**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: This chapter is dedicated to I know I'm a dreamer for her review, thank you! I'm glad you brought that to my attention!**

**And this story is going to have a storyline, and not just quote lots of text from the book because it is AU/AH!**

**This chapter was written by vampire princess33, enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: we don't own anything, except the plot! ;)**

**Sydney's POV**

I lay in my bed and fixed my gaze on the ceiling, not really sure what to do with myself. My homework was spread all over my usually neatly arranged desk, the blank sheet of paper for the essay I was due tomorrow mocking me from the place I had left it last night after having spent several hours just staring blankly at it. I wasn't even sure what topic the essay was.

The doorbell ringing pulled me out of my oblivion and at first it seemed as if the sound was coming from somewhere far away, only distantly reaching my ears. I jumped off my bed and walked down the stairs, feeling as if I was watching myself from the sidelines. I noted that I was dragging my feet, and for a moment I paused and contemplated whether I should try to stop.

My gaze wondered around the hall, and I felt slightly surprised when it stopped on a small mirror hanging from the wall. My eyes were swollen, my face was pale and somehow I looked thinner than usual, maybe as thin as Jill whom I always secretly envied for her ability to not gain a single pound no matter how much she ate. However, what scared me the most in my reflection was the emptyness of my eyes and the occasional ghost of pain visible on my face.

I felt like a mess, and now I had to admit that my appearance wasn't that good either. I wondered if other people could see how much I was hurting. I didn't like that idea. It made me feel vulnerable, and all I needed at the moment was to be strong for Jill' and my mother's sake.

I hastily ran a hand through my hair to straighten my unruly blond locks. The bell rang again and I was about to go and answer the door, when Jill ran past me, yelling loudly,

''I'll get it!''

Her reaction told me that Adrian was waiting at the door even before I heard him greeting my sister with the new nickname 'Jailbait' he had given her.

I stood on the stairs, leaning against the frame and just watched them. Jill led Adrian to the living room and they sat at the same couch, facing each other. I couldn't hear what they were saying, but I had a clear view of Jill's face. She looked...happy. That was the only word that came to my mind. Her eyes were bright and the haunted look that resided in those green pools ever since Zoe's death was gone as it happened every time she was with Adrian. She even laughed at one of his jokes, and at that moment Jill looked as if she had never suffered the loss of her twin.

That was the effect Adrian had on my sister. He could comfort her and make her forget and lift some of the weight of pain and sadness her shoulders so that Jill wouldn't have to carry it all on her own. He could do all the things that I couldn't.

I was supposed to be the one consoling Jill, the one she could speak to, the one who could help her cope with what she was going. Realisation that Jill didn't need me anymore sunk in and I was surprised at the tingle of jealousy I felt towards Adrian.

I knew it wasn't his fault and that he was just trying to help Jill, maybe even repent for not being able to save Zoe, but that tugging feeling inside me grew so persistent that it clouded my judgement. He was doing my job, he was the one making Jill happy, and not me.

I left Jill and Adrian alone in the living room without even walking in to say hello. It was just that I wasn't sure I would be able to face them at the moment, at least not without breaking down, and after the realisation of Zoe's death dawned on me, I had vowed to myself that I would not let anyone see me weak and crying, not even Jill.

Especially not Jill.

I made my way towards the kitchen with a slightly unsteady pace, thinking that the turmoil of feelings that had been struggling inside me was so uncharacteristic of me. I was always the composed one, the strong and the responsible one, but over the last week, I didn't feel completely like my usual self.

The smell of meat, tomatoes and sauted onions hit me when I entered the kitchen, and I saw that mum was already preparing the meal. I was so used to cooking for Jill and Zoe when our parents weren't home, that I felt like I was rendered useless in yet another domain in such a short period of time. I

always strove for control over my life, and for a moment I felt like everything I had been trying to maintain were slipping away from me.

My mother seemed to understand my train of thoughts, because she quickly turned off the stove and took off her cooking apron, heading towards me.

"Sydney, honey, its okay. I know you are hurt. You don't have to keep it inside you all the time.'' mum said, squeezing me into one of the hugs I always loved as a child. And my mother always had a way to make me feel like a child again, like it was alright to cry and weep in her arms, knowing that she would be there to wipe my tears after that. I managed a small smile and she nodded in approval, walking towards the oven after she had given me a peck on my cheek.

"Mum, ever since you went abroad I was cooking only healthy food, and now you're ruining the diet I set in this house.'' I said, finding it easier to joke and laugh than mope. A few moments later, mother laughed as well, tugging a few strands from the golden-blond hair we both shared, behind her ears as she went back to her cooking.

''I'm here now, so you'd better start eating normally again.'' she said lightly, but I didn't miss the concerned tone that crept in her voice.

"Mum, really, I'm fine. I have an essay to finish and then I'll eat with you and Jill-your super fattening food." I said in an attempt to reassure her and lighten the mood.

I was about to leave when I half-turned again, asking tentatively,

''About Dad, when is he...?'' my voice trailed off, but my mother understood what I was trying to say.''He said he won't be back until next month. Darling, I'm sorry.'' she said, and I nodded once, my face grim as I got back to my room, shutting the door behind me.

I didn't even bother with my essay. The moment I was alone, I fell on the bed and started crying. Minutes had passed when a soft knock on my door brought me back to reality and I had to pick myself up and try to hide the embarrassing fact that I was crying as best as I could.

"May I come in?'' a voice asked, and it took me some time to realise that it was Adrian's. I gave up on my effort to hide my puffy, red eyes and my tear-stained cheeks, figuring that I could not fool him.

"t's open," I said, mildly irritated by the fact that my voice was hoarse from crying. So much for trying to be brave for Jill and my mother. But, what was the point in feigning that I wasn't affected by Zoe's death? The truth was that I was devastated, and I was tired of pretending that I wasn't.

He stepped into my room and I watched him taking in my pathetic appearance. To his honour, he made a great job at hiding his surprise seeing me in this state by putting on a friendly smile as he walked towards me. The bed mattress sunk a little under his weight, and when I turned to look at him, I didn't see the pity that was evident in every other person who looked at me. Adrian's gaze held sympathy and understanding for what I was going through, and it was only then that I noticed how beautiful and emerald green his eyes were.

''Your mother told me to call you down for the meal. She was also kind enough to tell me that I could eat with you.'' Adrian said, and I hastily averted my gaze from his, having the vague impression that I was gaping at him for more time than it was appropriate, something that went completely against my composed character.

There was a playful glint in his eyes, and then he asked me in what I suspected was an effort to cheer me up and lighten the mood.

"Now, will you walk downstairs by yourself, or do you want me to carry you to the dinning-room bridal style?''

I jumped up and ushered him out of my room, telling him that I would be downstairs in a minute, but I couldn't help cracking a smile at his comment. Whatever Adrian was trying to do was working, because when I descended the stairs a few minutes later after having applied a discreet layer of make-up to conceal the black circles beneath my eyes, I was in a fairly better mood. I headed towards the dinning-room where Jill and Adrian were already seated, and she smiled brightly at me when she saw me.

''Hey, Sage," Adrian said casually when I slid on a chair next to Jill.''What's with that nickname anyway?'' I asked, spearing a piece of meat with my fork- I didn't usually eat high-calorie food, but I didn't want to let down mum either, especially after having spent the last two months without her cooking.

"It's just the protagonist of that book called Bloodlines. The second main character is named Adrian.''

There was a weird sound underneath the table which I suspected was Jill kicking Adrian, because then he added, ''And of course there is a girl named Jill.''

I remained silent for a few moments, processing what Adrian was saying and at the same time trying my best not to look incredulous or roll my eyes.

''Book characters? Really?'' I asked, laughing, and Adrian cast Jill a meaningful look before he said,

''I am positive that at the end of the books, Sydney and Adrian end up together.''

I tried to ignore the suspicious glances between Jill and Adrian and decided that I should have a talk with my sister about trying not to discuss my personal life and therefore who I was going to end up with- with Adrian of all people in the near future.

"Goodbye and thanks for the meal." Adrian said some time later, standing at our front door as he was about to leave. ''See you around, Jailbait, and tell your sister not to miss me too much.'' he said, causing Jill to giggle, then assuming an innocent look when I glarred daggers at her.

''You, however, are nothing like Sydney Sage. The book Sydney, I mean." Adrian told me, turning his full attention towards me, and there was a strange look on his face when he said it, as if he was trying to decide something crucial about me. The intensity of his gaze distracted me once again, and I looked away from him every time our eyes met, secretly thanking the Lord that I didn't blush easily.

If I was, I had a feeling that I would be scarlet right now. And judging from Adrian's expression, he knew it too.

**Please let us know what you think and make our day!** **:)**


	5. Chapter 5: The Wretched Book

**This chapter is dedicated to Jemily 145 for writing reviews that make me soo happy! :D **

**And for also mentioning that there are similarities between book Sydney and real Sydney- like the fact that they both don't blush easily.**

**I just needed to clarify that that wasn't what Adrian had meant though; he had meant she was a lot more beautiful than the book Sydney, but Sydney (who really doesn't understand the way guy's brains work) didn't realise this! Silly Sage indeed...**

**Get ready for Sydrian, but whether it's good or bad, nobody knows! :)**

**I think this was my favourite chapter-especially the last half; you'll understand why hopefully!**

**Disclaimer: I own only the plot.**

My first waking feeling was dread. Today was the day my father returned.

I rolled out of bed and immediately made myself a coffee after getting ready, knowing that I would need it. My room was already immaculate as was downstairs; all I could do now was wait. Thankfully, he was getting a ride here for which I was glad because I hadn't really wanted to go through the motions of happy families when we were anything but.

Jill crept into my room a couple of minutes later, holding two outfits up nervously. "Which one Sydney?"

I immediately pointed to the navy blouse as opposed to the scarlet red; my father seemed to have some strange aversion to colours which was why I hardly wore any too. Jill hadn't seemed to really grasped that yet, which consequently got her on the wrong end of an earful quite a lot.

Still biting her lip nervously, she sat down. She was worried about something else. I was surprised she had actually asked me and not Adrian. He seemed to be taking care of her a lot more than I did nowadays.

And of course, the thing she was worried about involved Adrian.

"I was thinking that could I ask Adrian to come over? He would help me through it and make it more bearable." She said quietly.

I felt my entire world collapse around me, and I tried desperately not to let is show. Everyone had always come to me for help, and I had always considered it as something I was required to do. But not anymore; I liked feeling as though I was helping someone. But now Adrian had taken over my responsibility over Jill and I felt worthless.

Like I had no purpose in life anymore now that Adrian was here and Zoe was gone.

I tried to think it through rationally and I replied, "Jill, imagine how dad would feel if he suddenly met Adrian when what he really wanted to do was mourn in peace with his family."

Her face fell, and I tried to take my words back. If dad really had wanted to mourn, he would've come back in time for the funeral, not stayed because of some business deal. Because his business deal was more important than his daughter being buried into the ground.

Wait, why was I upset that Adrian wasn't going to be coming?

_It's only because Jill's upset that you think you want Adrian there... and he would make everything a lot more easier. _

At least, that's what I told myself. I checked my watch again for the umpteenth time, muttering to myself, "Two hours left."

Jill instantly grew into a frenzy. "I still need to get ready!" And with those words, she ran out and slammed the door.

* * *

The doorbell rang and mum ran to answer it, her face white. His mood was depending fully on whether he had secured that business deal. He walked in and I was surprised to see that I didn't feel any happier by seeing him, despite the fact that it had been almost three months since I had last seen him.

He nodded at us all in turn amd apart from a quick peck on mum's cheek saying that he missed her, he displayed no other shows of affection. I had no idea if the deal had gone well.

We stood awkwardly for a couple more minutes in the hallway making polite conversation before going into the dining room when he stated that he was hungry.

I offered to take his bags upstairs and he stared at me like I was crazy.

"Why would I let you carry my bags?" He said.

Only he didn't say it because he didn't want me working, he said it because someone as lowly as me shouldn't be allowed to touch his precious bags.

I shrugged my shoulders nonchalantly as though this didn't bother me, which caused another remark.

"You've put on weight. I can hardly see your shoulders with all that excess fat around it."

I felt like disappearing into the ground; not because I was ashamed, but because I felt like I wanted to spit in his face.

Yes, I was feeling quite violent.

I almost wished that Adrian was here, but it would habe been even worse if Adrian had to witness my humiliation.

Unfortunately, sometimes you didn't get what you wished for.

The doorbell rang again.

"Who did you invite now?" Father screamed angrily.

I flinched slightly and could only imagine how the person on the other side of the door must be feeling.

I went to answer it as no one else made a move and almost slammed the door back in his face.

"Adrian, what are you doing here?" I whispered, not quite sure if I was more happy or angry that he was here.

Right now, I was leaning towards angry.

"Not quite the reaction I was aiming for, I was looking more for you declaring your undying love for me or maybe a lifetime of servitude in exchange for a box of conversation hearts."

"I'm not your slave Adrian! " I said hotly.

He actually looked guilty. Good.

"I didn't mean it like that, I was just trying to turn that frown upside down!" He said, tilting the corners of my mouth up. I froze at the proximity between us for some strange reason and so did he.

After what felt like an eternity, we were screamed at to come inside by my father and all feelings of dread returned.

"Who are you?" My father said brusquely as soon as Adrian appeared.

"Be nice." I muttered. Thankfully, my father didn't hear and continued glaring at Adrian.

"Adrian," he said matching my father's tone. To me, he said, "I'm not nice to men who like to make others feel inferior."

"So you're the reason my daughter is dead."

"And you're the reason Sage and Jill had to go through everything alone."

Adrian's voice was getting increasingly quiet and therefore more threatening. He really didn't like my dad.

I chewed the inside of my lip, wondering when I should interfere or even if I should interfere.

Thankfully, my mum, who had a sixth sense for trouble, mutual animosity, hatred, whatever you wanted to call it, hurriedly said, "Adrian, we're just about to have supper. Join us, we'd love to have you."

"Yeah Adrian, stay!" Jill said excitedly. Upon seeing my father's, expression, she immediately became contrite.

I shot her a look and mouthed, "Did you tell him to come?"

She shook her head furiously. "No, I told you I wouldn't!" She whispered loudly.

"Then why is he here?" I replied, growing more puzzled by the second. It wasn't a very nice feeling. I swore to myself that if I could help it, I would try very hard to not feel confused again if it was possible.

"You do know that it's rude to talk about someone when they're still in the room." Adrian deadpanned.

"I..."

"Don't bother worrying a

bout it, " he said, waving off my apology that was sure to come. "I know that you secretly find me hot anyway."

"What? " I protested. There was no way he knew that I found him hot. I mean, someone would have to be silly not to realise that he was a perfect embodiment of hotness. But he shouldn't have known that.

"I've got proof in writing. There's no point in denying it." He smirked.

I really wanted to... do something, I just had no idea what.

"What proof?"

I didn't keep a diary or anything like a journal in fear that someone would find it and consequently all my secrets that I had tried so hard to keep.

"That's part of the reason I came. I needed to show you, you deserve to know..."

Just then, the room suddenly felt too crowded.

"Eat your dinner without complaints." Dad said sternly.

I knew better than to argue and took a seat opposite Adrian, playing around with the food. I couldn't wait until I could ask Adrian about what the hell he was on about.

"Eat your food Sage." Adrian said, "That is what it's there for."

"Don't encourage her boy. She is already the size of a beast."

My fork clattered onto my plate, and the sound seemed even louder in the dead silence that ensued after my father's words. I could feel the sting behind my eyes and I willed myself to not cry. Not in front of Jill. Not in front of Adrian. And definitely not in front of my dad where he could just ridicule me for being 'weak.'

Adrian suddenly looked thunderous and I stared at him, urging him silently to just let it go. He returned my gaze steadily until his anger slowly receded. The tension around the table was almost visible as he picked up his fork again.

Then he dropped it again, muttering, "Fuck this." He stood up and walked around the table to stand next to me. "You coming Sage?"

I looked at the occupants of the table slowly, analysing what their reaction would be if I left.

Jill would probably be overjoyed that I was going with Adrian.

Mum would be happy I was finally standing up for myself.

I saved dad for last. He would be furious.

Making up my mind, I smiled and escused myself, following Adrian out the front door, after saying I wouldn't be too long to my mum.

She had winked and said, "Take as long as you need."

Adrian and I walked in mutual horror at what had just occured until I realised I had no idea where we were going.

"We're going to one of my favourite places of all time." He had answered ominously when I had asked.

It turned out the 'special place' was known as Pies and Stuff. I hated the use of the word stuff, it was so unspecific and I instantly felt a dislike to whoever had named it. But when I saw the interior, I undersood slightly why Adrian liked it here. It was modern chic and looked cozy. I snuck a peek at Adrian who was looking at me with a slight frown on his face.

I turned round again quickly and asked for a table of waiter grinned and showed us over to an extremely private looking booth, where no one could see what you were doing.

Oh.

"Excuse me, is it possible to change..." I started but Adrian nudged me slightly and shook his head at the waiter.

"No, this should be perfect." He said.

I glared at him in disbelief; didn't he know that the waiter thought that we were together?

"Its better if we have some privacy for what I need to tell you." He said as means of an explanation.

I immediately stopped complaining. Once the waiter had gone, Adrian pulled something out from his pocket.

It was a book.

Wait, Adrian had a book? And the book in question had our faces on its cover.

I looked at Adrian mutely, waiting for him to explain.

"This is the book I had mentioned in passing to you. It's from your point of view." He said.

I took it off him and stared wordlessly at the cover, unable to believe my eyes. That had never happened to me before.

I surveyed the cover; Adrian was stood slightly behind me on my right, looking straight at me with those green eyes of his. I was staring straight ahead, looking for all the world like I had no idea what I was doing there; I looked slightly afraid.

The word Bloodlines was written below us in cursive.

Adrian reached over the table and pushed the book into my lap, just as the waiter came over to ask if we were ready to order or of he should 'just come back later and give us some privacy'.

I felt like punching him but I settled for ordering a skinny vanilla latte instead.

"The book Sydney likes the same coffee as you and also seems to be addicted to it." Adrian said, trying to lighten the mood.

"What else have you figured out about me?" I said, trying to also reply in a joking tone whilst my mind was reeling.

"That you find me hot, like I said before."

When I looked at him questioningly, he just gesturdd to the book and said, "Read page forty six. Its all there." He shrugged, as though it meant nothing to him, but I could tell from the emotions swirling in his eyes that he really wanted to know what I thought.

"_Like all Moroi, he was pale and had a tall, lean build. Emerald green eyes studied us from a face that could have been sculpted by one of the classical artists I so admired. Shocked, I dismissed the comparison as soon as it popped into my head. This was a vampire, after all. It was ridiculous to admire him the way I would some hot human guy." _I gasped upon reading the paragraph.

"I told you I had written evidence." Adrian said smugly.

"So Moroi are vampires?" I asked Adrian, trying not to concentrate on everything at once.

He nodded. "I think all the individual species and strange 'nouns' are a metaphor for things in real life. Like my character Adrian. He controls a type of magic element called spirit, which gives him these spirit-induced darkness episodes. I think that's a metaphor for when I ...get a little crazy."

I nodded at him, whilst reading. "Can I take this home?" I asked Adrian.

"Yeah, but you have to admit you called me hot though!" He grinned, teasing me.

"I didn't. Book Sydney did. And she thought it, she didn't say it."

"Well, book Sage is lot like you, apart from a few...choice differences." He said, trailing off.

"Like what?" I asked curiously.

"Like the fact you aren't an Alchemist."

He said it with conviction, but I had a feeling it was actually something else.

I decided not to question it though.

"Can you drop me off home now?" I said.

"Sure. Anything for my Sage." He replied easily.

"I'm not your Sage." I frowned.

"Really?" He said , grinning lazily. "Who else calls you that?"

I started walking without retorting and he ran to catch me up. "Sage, you know I'm only joking. I've got a girlfriend." He said pleadingly, like he wanted me to forgive him.

Why was he bothered about my forgiveness when he already had a girlfriend? I thought bitterly.

Why was I so bothered for?

Looking at Adrian's face, he was asking himself both those questions too.

The waiter winked at me as we left and I filed a mental note in my head to file a complaint against him.

He reminded a lot of Keith.

**A/N: This is where the storyline really starts, and the quote I added in here is an example of the quotes I'll add in later chapters. As I said, there won't be chunks of quoted text.**

**Hope you enjoyed it as much as I did!**

**And once again, thank you for all your reviews so far! :D**

**Xxx**


	6. Chapter 6: The Cure to Heartbreak

**A/N: This chapter is dedicated to KyKat for your review. The conversation between Adrian and Mr Sage was one of my favourite parts of the chapter too! :)**

**Someone very well-known to all of us is going to make an appearance in this chapter, see if you can guess who it is!**

**And this chapter is from Adrian's POV, because splendour'n'sparkle so kindly asked for it!**

**Enjoy...**

**Disclaimer: I have still no ownership over Adrian *sigh* just the plot.**

**Adrian's POV**

I wondered for the upmteenth time if Sage was reading about me right now. And about what she thought. I whistled softly to myself, deciding impulsively to go and see Rose. I hadn't seen her for a few days, as she had claimed she was busy with her karate class.

My girlfriend was badass.

"Hey good-looking! What's cooking?" Called Katie, the woman that worked in the bakers. I walked in and grinned.

"Only you, in that smoking uniform."

She was probably four years older than me with blonde hair a shade darker than Sage's and a body that almost gave Rose a run for her money.

Almost.

After Rose and I had become item, I had obviously stopped flirting with other girls, but recently, that fact had seemed to put her on edge. She claimed that she was holding back my true character and when I didn't talk to other girls, it had made her nervous.

It was the first time I had ever heard a girl tell her boyfriend to flirt with other girls whilst still dating her.

But Rose was unique, so anything she said always surprised me. I wasn't too sure about this demand though.

"I'll have two large cream and rasberry buns please." I added.

She nodded. "Sure."

Even though we talked a lot, we didn't actually see each other in that way, which was why her boyfriend, Christian, who also worked in the bakery, didn't seem to mind.

He came over and flicked flour at me. I stared at him in mock horror and frantically tried to brush the miniscule amount of flour off my sleeve. It had already gone otherwise there definitely would have been a price to pay.

"Stop talking to my girlfriend!" He laughed.

"Hey," I said, raising my hand in a gesture of defeat, "It's not my fault she's bored of you, but obviously, with me to compare to, who wouldn't be bored with something less?"

"Nice to see your ego hasn't disappeared after your holiday!" Christian snorted.

"Nice to see your charm hasn't.' I replied, deadpan. "I was scared that that tiny amount would have been passed over to me too."

"No, you're so brilliant already, you've got no space left for improvement Ivashkov." He smirked.

"Ozera, I'm glad to be back. What would you have done without me?"

"I think it was the other way round actually. I heard you were saying my name in your sleep, saying you couldn't live without me."

"Really?" I said, playing along. "I was promised that no one would tell you!" It was good just to get away from everything for a while and just stand here, acting like I had no troubles except exchanging a few witty remarks.

Katie, clearly tired of our nonsensical conversation, pushed the buns into my hand and said, "One day Adrian, you are going to realise that it isn't only me who is immune to your undeniable charm. And Christian is too if he carries on like this." She said, playfully nudging him.

"I've got undeniable charm! Hear that Ozera?"

"Ok, go on, get out of here and stop questioning my obvious capability to beat you in a fight." He said, making shooing motions.

'Okay Pyro, I'm going to spend time with Rose."

Christian loved playing with fire, literally, hence the nickname 'Pyro'.

He didn't seem to mind , but he did slice a finger across this throat when he thought Peroxide wasn't looking.

She threw flour over him, clearly havimg witnessed our exchange. He pulled her towards him, and I gladly exited, not really wanting to see them drool all over each other.

I wondered what I would've called Zoe if she hadn't... died.

Did she even know who I was? A voice told me she did, and I remembered the way she had looked at me whilst we we were in the hospital.

She was almost an exact replica of Sage.

Wait, that was what I was going to call her! Mini-Sage.

I liked it. I wondered what she would've thought of it. Jill clearly adored Sage but I would never know if it had been the same with Zoe. And that was all my fault, no matter what anyone said. I imagined what she would've been like, if she was exactly like Jill or if they were completely opposite characters, if not in looks.

By the time I reached Rose's door, the jam from the bun had leaked over my index finger and I shifted them so I could open the door.

I walked in and screamed, "Honey, I'm home!"

No answer. Strange, if she wasn't home, she wouldn't have left the front door open. She had always been vigilant about things like that, and after I had met her dad, I knew exactly why.

Abe Mazur was not a man to mess with and I would've loved to have seen him and my dad go head-to-head. It was amusing watching my dad slowly grow red under pressure when his entire life had been spent telling me how to uphold the family reputation.

Of course, I had done the exact opposite as soon as he had told me this.

I left the buns on a table and walked inside, my curiosity growing by the second.

Maybe she had thrown me a party. A private party. I grinned at the thought.

I heard quiet voices coming from the kitchen and walked straight in...

To find Rose wrapped in an embrace with Dimitri.

She was having a private party-just not with me.

I couldn't think. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Dimitri, that fucking bastard, was kissing my Rose, and they were so wrapped up in their own world that they didn't even notice me. I should've known this was coming. The way she had been behaving the past few days, the way she had avoided me, and all this time, it was because she had been sneaking around with goddamn Dimitri, the guy who had broken her heart. I felt my own heart twist in my chest, my nerves reaching their last point, my entire body burning up. But it wasn't in jealousy, I realised. It was in anger.

Anger that she could have done this to me after everything I had done for her. I had given up everything for her, but clearly she cared an atom seed for me. She didn't feel anything- no remorse- as she stayed locked in Dimitri's embrace.

I should've felt something, but I juet felt numb. Like my body couldn't function. Like _I_ couldn't function without her. But she had never done anything for me, so why should I feel that for? Our entire relationship had consis

ted entirely of me trying to fill the hole in her heart that had been caused by Dimitri, and look where that had gotten me! They finally pulled apart, smiling at each other, when Dimitri saw my shadow.

"Roza..."

So they even had cute nicknames for each other. I was physically shaking, trying to suppress my tightly reigned in frustration. I had fallen for this bullshit so many times, but each time it felt like she had gotten a knife and twisted it through my heart, a little harder each time.

"Adrian!" Rose shrieked, clearly shocked. So she hadn't counted on me interrupting her make-out session.

I couldn't believe I was thinking so calmly about this, but I knew that deep down, Rose wasn't going to stay with me. She wasn't right for me. I could feel my hand itching towards my pocket for a cigarette, but I held back before the desperate need to get away would overcome me. I needed to make some things clears, but Rose had already had a speech prepared.

"Adrian, I didn't mean for this to happen. But I'm in love with Dimitri and I think a part of you always knew that. I just wish it didn't have to be like this."

"But Rose," I l laughed mockingly whilst she flinched at my tone, "It has ended like this. What's the point in trying to say that it didn't? And there's no point in staying friends either; I don't want to see either of you ever again."

Tears were streaming down her face, but I just felt a hurt so deep, it overpowered every other emotion I was feeling. Dimitri wiped her tears away, muttering to her that there was no use in crying.

Yeah, get your hands all over her, you can have her.

I felt a darkness envelop me, scattering all my thoughts until all I could focus on was my anger towards the people who had done this to me and the betrayal I felt. I didn't know that this could happen to me again.

Rose pulled away and walked towards me but I lit up my cigarette and breathed out, blowing the smoke in her blotchy face.

I carried on walking, until I had left my past behind.

I walked aimlessly around, not knowing where my destination was. Like Pocahontas walking wherever the wind took her, I laughed to myself. The laugh contained no humour thoug,it sounded dark and bitter and twisted. Like a madman's laugh. Was I really crazy, lile the Adrian in the book?

I would have to ask Sage what she thought; she seemed to be the best person to try and interpret the sinister inner workings of my mind.

I didn't even understand myself sometimes, so how did I expect anyone else to?

Every time I grew close to someone, I ended up with my heart broken in the process. And every time I vowed that it would be the last time, but it never was. Maybe it was karma coming back to bite me in my arse for not saving an innocent fifteen year old.

I had stamped out my last cigarette ages ago, and now I desperately wanted to escape my own head, even if it meant a hangover.

Death had to be an easier escape than this.

But to my surprise, I was now outside Sage's door, my hand raised to knock. I dropped my hand after knocking once, praying she would answer, but then wishing she didn't, so that she wouldn't have to see me in this state.

At least I wasn't drunk.

She answered the door, her hair tousled and her eyes bleary from having had to wake up. My brewth caught in my throat as I looked at her, and her eyes widened as she took my appearance in.

''Adrian, what's wrong?"

For almost a moment, I had actually forgotten all about Rose but Sage's question brought all the painful memories back to surface, and I felt like crap because I had woken her up.

"Sorry Sage, I'm going. I... didn't mean to disturb you." My voice sounded lifeless even to my own ears and God only knew what I looked like.

But she just opened the door wider,inviting me in. I probably looked lost and she dpfelt as though she had to find me again. There was no other reason to her helping me, no matter how much I wished it.

I followed her up to her room, after she had said that it wasn't safe to stay in the living-room. Being in her bedroom would only cause more suspicion, but I didn't bother saying that.

Instead, I resorted back to my normal snarky self, trying to add some humour to the seriousness between us. "You know Sage, normally being invited to your bedroom would be the highlight of my day."

She sat down and held on to her coffee cup, as thoughit would keep her grounded.

The book with our faces on the cover was resting nicely on her bedside table. So she had fallen asleep looking at my face.

In your dreams Adrian.

She probably knew I couldn't just come out with what I had to say, so she distracted me instead, pulling the book open in her lap.

"Look at this." She said, pointing a delicate finger at a passage of text.

_"Adrian held out his hand, but Keith didn't take it. Whether that was because Keith was still shell-shocked or because he simply didn't want to touch a vampire, I couldn't say. Adrian didn't seem to mind. He dropped his hand and took out a lighter, stepping past us as he did. He nodded toward the doorway._

_"They're waiting for you. Go on in." Adrian leaned closer to Keith's ear and spoke in an ominous voice. "If. You. Dare." He poked Keith's shoulder and gave a "Muhahaha' kind of monster laugh."_

I looked at Sage and shrugged; she looked like she was trying to hold in her laughter. "It sounds as though I'm as awesome in the book as I am in real life." I frowned sagely._  
_

"Oh, you don't know Keith," she smiled prettily. "I hate him, and you just made me laugh so hard when I read that. I thought I should tell you. I can't wait to see what happens when you and Keith meet in real life.' She trailed off.

I stared at her in amazement. Even though I knew she was only trying to distract me, it was working. And I had no idea how she had done it, but she had also made the pain of Rose's betrayal fade a little.

Before I managed to talk myself out of it, I said, "Rose... left me."

She deserved to know the truth.

She looked gobsmacked and her hands flew to her mouth. "Adrian, I'm so sorry."

"You have nothing to be sorry about. The people who do need to be sorry, think they've done no wrong." I clenched my eyes shut, trying to rid myself of the image of Rose and Dimitri that I would never forget, no matter how many times I tried to drown them out with expensive alcohol.

Sage could tell I still needed some time and didn't say anything else, but just shifted slightly away from me on the bed, as though she had just realised how close we had been sitting. Instead, she moved on quickly to another topic, averting my gaze as though she was slightly embarrassed at our earlier proximity.

"So you smoke and you drink. Well, you aren't going to in front of me. It's a horrible addiction to have, bur I guess everyone has their own way of dealing with problems.'

She looked down at her stomach, as though she was thinking that starvation was the way she dealt with everything.

Not anymore though. Not if I had anything to do with it.

I stopped myself just in time from hugging her , knowing that that would undoubtedly scare her off.

And I didn't want that.

She was the cure to everything dark inside me, like how the Sun chased away shadows; she was the cure to my heartbreak.

I had no idea what Sydney meant to me, but all I knew was that there was no way I could ever hurt her.

And then I realised that it was happening again, despite what I had repeatedly told myself.

I was lending out my heart again. I just wished it didn't get broken this time.

And Sage looked like she was thinking the exact same thing too.

**A/N: I hoped you liked it.**

**And Rose and Dimitri are together and my heart bled for Adrian, but please don't hate me because he's got Sage now!**

**I hope you like the Christian part I added in, I like Christian...**

**Thank you for all the reviews so far too, I really am motivated into writing by you; if it wasn't for you, I would have stopped writing on this site. **

**So thank you for all your words, kind or not! :D**

**I hoped that this chapter was worth the wait...**

**Bye bye! Sweet dreams (for everyone in England!)**

**CherrySlushLover**

**Xxx**


	7. Chapter 7: Spending all Night

**A/N: This chapter is dedicated to the brilliant SageWinter, for always being such a dedicated reviewer and loving this story almost as much as I do! I put a lot of effort in my stories so I'm glad that it's appreciated! I always look forward to your reviews because they're always honest and you're not afraid to tell me how I can improve.**

**Thank you so much and I hope you continue to enjoy it!**

**And your story on Wattpad, The Pharoah's Scimitar, is awesome! If you love Paranormal stories, then seriously, you'll love that book!**

**For those of you who are waiting for vampireprincess33 to upload, she is currently on holiday and won't be writing for a while. So you're stuck with me for now! :)**

**Thank you to all my readers, reviewers, followers and favouriters so far; I love you guys,you're my motivation!**

**Protective (and angry) Adrian appears in this chapter... *swoon***

**And Hopper!**

**Disclaimer: I only own the plot.**

When Adrian had turned up at my door in the middle of the night, the last thing I had expected to happen was this.

Adrian was lying down on _my bed, _dead to the rest of the world. I bit my bottom lip, trying to think of how on earth I could solve this. If someone came and found here, they were bound to get the wrong idea and I knew dad would have some witty remark on how my sister had just been buried and I was already enjoying myself.

It wasn't me who couldn't be bothered to turn up to the funeral though.

Adrian had just found out his girlfriend was cheating on him and had turned up here. He had looked so lost that I couldn't do anything except try to take his mind off it. There was no way I would have shut the door on his face. He turned and mumbled slightly in his sleep, and I bit back my laughter. He looked innocent and so young when he slept, almost as though he had no worries in the world. He always acted so carefree, but I could just tell he wasn't. He cared so much about Jill, even though he had only known her for a few days; he treated her like one would treat a little sister, and I felt happy that at least someone could make Jill smile, even if it wasn't me.

I realised that I had been so selfish earlier, getting jealous because it wasn't me taking care of Jill, but all that was in the past now.

Now I was just happy because Jill was happy. And she was trying to get by without Zoe.

My heart clenched when I thought of Zoe, but then I remembered that if she was here, she would be shouting at me right now for going soft on her.

I smiled sadly and I imagined her shaking me, telling me to snap out of it.

'But I don't want to forget,' I said to the imaginary Zoe in front of me.

She looked like an angel, dressed in flowing white, and her brown hair was in a chignon, pulled away from her face, making her look severe, but illuminating her youth too.

'Well, remember me happy and smiling, don't be sad then. I'm always going to be here, and I will be super mad if you keep mourning. I might even decide to haunt you,' Zoe said, smiling.

I suddenly felt something touch my hand and I jolted up, realising that I must have been dreaming. I had only manahed to get a couple hours of sleep so that was entirely possible. Adrian's hand had fallen on top of mine, which was the cause of my awakening, and I carefully tried to move it, but his fingers just tightened around mine.

"Sage," he murmured.

I froze. Did he know where he was or was he dreaming?

His eyes flicked open and those green eyes immediately focused on me. He jumped up and stared at me, trying to form words. "Oh crap, Sage. I didn't mean to fall asleep here. I'll go now."

"It's okay Adrian. I'll let you out, my dad shouldn't be up for another hour anyway."

He looked at me again, tilting his head to the side slightly, scrutinizing me. I suddenly felt uncomfortable under his stare and tried to stay still, whilst desperately wanting to fidget.

What was he thinking?

"Why are you so scared of him, Sage? And you still always want to impress him, even though he treats you like crap. Book Sydney's the same."

I had no idea how he was so alert after just waking up.

"I'm not book Sydney though. And from what I've gathered so far, you're the same with your dad," I said quietly.

His dad was a touchy subject, I realised, seeing as his entire face closed off and his hands tightened into fists when I mentioned him.

"My father is a dickhead who deserves to rot in hell." His jaw clenched, and I could tell he didn't want to say anymore on the subject.

"And I think you are alike to the book Sydney in certain ways. Like the fact that you always put other's needs over your own, you never put yourself first."

"Yes I do," I argued back. I had no idea why I was trying so hard to convince Adrian that I thought of myself too, but I couldn't stop.

"Sage, any normal person would've slammed the door in my face if I turned up to their house past midnight."

"I wasn't exactly going to leave you there!" I replied heatedly, but ensuring to keep my volume down.

"You got near to no sleep because I was having a personal drama." Adrian folded his arms behind his head, getting comfortable, knowing that he had won this argument.

"Adrian, get up," I hissed, deciding that this argument was pointless. "You need to go, remember?"

I shoved the Bloodlines book into his shocked hands, and pushed him to the door. That book was going to give me nightmares. Suddenly, Adrian seemed to know every last thing about me and it was all that book's fault. It was freaking me out slightly how he knew me more than I did myself.

Wait, Adrian had read a book?

I couldn't help but ask him if he had, to which his reply was,

"Sage, do I look like I read? Even if the topic is someone as interesting as you."

I wasn't about to let this go however, so I persisted. "So how did you know book Sydney thought that book Adrian was hot?"

I folded my arms triumphantly, knowing I had won this argument.

Or not.

Adrian shifted on his feet, suddenly looking uncomfortable as his eyes darted around, looking everywhere but at me.

"I actually didn't read it. Rose showed me that paragraph, saying it was proof that I was going to cheat on her," he paused and exhaled, as though a big weight had been lifted off him because he had said that. "I guess she was the one doing the cheating after all."

I was the one feeling awkward now, and he quickly changed the topic, sensing my discomfort from the silence that had ensued after his words.

"Cute pyjamas, by the way. Bunnies are nice."

I stared at the ground when I answered. "Zoe loved them. One day, she hid them from me and told my mum to get her some exactly the same. When my mum said she couldn't, she stole mine, and tried to pass it off as hers, even though it was too big on her. She always wanted a rabbit called Hopper." I smiled at the memory, and imagined Zoe laughing too.

Adrian smiled slightly and leaned against the door. I shuffled away from him slightly, trying to be discreet but those green eyes missed nothing. I was glad he didn't comment on my apparent disgust of standing near him. I had no idea why, but I was suddenly starting to feel a tad queasy, like there was something moving in my stomach, and my head was starting to spin a little too.

Adrian's voice broke into my train of thought. "So that's why Jill goes crazy every time she sees a bunny related thing. The other day, we went shopping and there was this chocolate Lindor bunny, for Easter, and she started to sniffle a bit. I asked if she was allergic to sweet things and she started crying."

I didn't bother asking when he had taken her shopping; she never took me now anyway.

"Poor Jill," I said. "Every thing is probably reminding her of Zoe."

_I know that that's what it's like for me._

I was getting sidetracked again. I started to push Adrian through the door but stopped abruptly, due to a sidden tingling sensation in my palms. He took the hint and crept cautiously down the hallway, avoiding the fifth step, which creaked.

Just as he was an inch from freedom, the front door opened and _Keith_ walked in.

Yes, Keith. The guy I hated and the one whose insides I felt like ripping out whenever I saw him. That Keith.

"Sydney?"

"Keith?" I said, disbelievingly. "What are you doing here, and since when do you have keys?"

He had the audacity to not even look slightly ashamed. "I heard about Zoe, and I had the keys from when me and Carly were going out."

"And obviously, you didn't think to return them when you broke up," I said, deadpan.

He decided to keep the keys of the girl's house that he had raped? He was even worse than I had thought initially, and that had been pretty bad.

He didn't get it, and I really felt like poking his other eye out when he winked at me.

"Don't be like this, Syd. You do understand that I only came to offer my condolences to a very beloved family of mine."

How did he not understand that I hated his guts?

"It's Sydney"

Adrian chortled on the right of me, and Keith stared, as though he had just noticed Adrian standing next to me now. Adrian, on the other hand, had been watching the entire exchange with raised eyebrows, so I knew that he knew that Keith was the same idiot

that was my fellow Alchemist in the Bloodlines book.

"I think you can handle this arsehole all by yourself, Sage."

Keith glared at Adrian, but Adrian's cool composure and arrogant stance stopped Keith from retorting.

"What's the matter? Vampire got your tongue?"Adrian continued, smirking. He was enjoying psyching Keith out, and, to be honest, so was I.

I looked at Adrian from the corner of my eye and raised an eyebrow to say, 'Really Adrian? It's not like he's going to get that reference anyway.' But Adrian, of course, just ignored me.

Keith settled for trying to act as though Adrian wasn't there to make himself seem macho or something, and turned his back on him.

I knew exactly what Adrian was going to do even before he did it and I shook my head at him firmly, even though I really wanted to see Keith's reaction.

Adrian grabbed Keith by his shoulders and laughed evilly, causing Keith to scream like a little girl. He spun around and clutched a hand to his heart, which was probably beating really fast from his sudden fright.

I caught Adrian's eye, and before I could stop myself, I laughed. Keith's expression had been priceless. Adrian joined in but I quickly stopped, putting a finger to my lips and pointing upstairs.

Unfortunately, Keith had caught the gesture and leaned in close to me, his breath ruffling my hair. I shivered, not in pleasure, but in disgust.

He put his hands on my upper arms and I twisted in his grasp, but his fingers didn't loosen their hold. "Have you been a very naughty girl, _Syd?"_

My mind suddenly blanked and I wondered if this was how he had touched Carly, if he had whispered double-meaning words at her too and if he had not let her go despite her continuous efforts to get free.

I spat in his face with these images planted firmly in my memory, unable to stand a second longer in his grasp, but it hadn't been necessary, because in the next second, Adrian had flung Keith outside, and gripped him by his collar.

"So that's what you do then? Force yourself on girls when they don't return your affections? No wonder Sage hates you!" He said venomously, his voice low with barely-contained anger.

As much as I would've loved to see Keith get what was coming to him, I knew now was not the time or the place and I was not one of those girls who liked men to fight her battles for her, even if it had felt nice that Adrian had been there for me.

I rushed forward and separated them, shoving Keith away towards the bins, and keeping Adrian next to me.

Keith looked at me with confused eyes- or should I say, eye. "Do you really hate me, Sydney?"

Finally, he had got my name right. And I didn't hate him, I loathed him.

Because of him, Carly's life had been ruined and because of him, I no longer had my sister with me. She was the shell of the woman she had been. And it was all his fault. I couldn't even give him the punishment he deserved, because Carly had told me to promise not to tell anyone.

When I didn't answer, he thankfully got the hint and climbed into his car, throwing a 'hurt' glance over his shoulder at me.

"You shouldn't have done that," I said, as soon as he had gone.

"Normally, when a guy rescues a girl, they normally get at least a kiss in appreciation. But I wohld settle for at least a thank you. A kiss would be brilliant, but somehow, I doubt that that's going to happen," Adrian said, mock seriously.

"I don't need to be rescued. But thank you."

"I just wanted to see if I could make you laugh as much as the book Adrian had when he scared the shit out of book Keith."

"Hmm," I pretended to think. "Well, book Adrian is a vampire, so obviously he's more scarier. But he's better looking and his hair's nicer too, so therefore, your face is scarier. I guess you're pretty much equal then. But vampire's have that sexy undead thing going on..."

I grinned slightly at Adrian's expression. "My hair is definitely better than a book character's," he said, running a hand through it.

I had used to feel so much animosity towards Adrian, and then I had felt nervous, but right now, apart from the strange fluttering in my stomach, I felt almost comfortable, laughing woth him.

Adrian looked at me, and frowned. "Well, admit it th

en. I look better than book Adrian."

I shook my head, refusing to budge on this one.

Just as he was about to reply, an alarm rang upstairs and we both jumped, suddenly realising our surroundings again.

"Bye Adrian, " I said quietly. "And thank you."

He understood immediately what I was thankful for.

"No, thank you, Sage."

I was about to ask what he was thankful for, but he was already walking away. I sighed, and sneaked back to my room, trying to act like I hadn't just had a man in there nearly all night.

I hoped I could get some sleep later on, but that was going to be impossible with the news I would get later on today.

**A/N: I hope you enjoyed it! **

**Favourite line or sentence anyone? **

**And does anybody know how old Eddie is supposed to be? I don't have the books, because I lent them to a friend who still hasn't given it back (yes, Tania, if you're reading this, I'm talking about you) so I don't have the books on hand.**

**I would really appreciate it if someone could let me know? :D**

**Until the next chapter...**

**Bye!**

**Xxx**


	8. Chapter 8: Adrian's Offer

**This chapter is dedicated to goode-lover for reviewing, favouriting and following. I hope you continue to enjoy this story! :)**

**Two updates in two day, I must love you guys! Longest chapter yet...**

**Sorry for the typos in the last chapter, I updated at 5am, so I didn't proofread...**

**Thank you to:**

**Channyobsessedoct2: I love writing Keith being embarrassed; it's so fun! =D**

**Summer: Thank you for letting me know Eddie's age and your favourite line; the sexy undead thing was so funny, even if I do say so myself! XD**

**HopperIvashkinator: Thank you for everything, not just reviewing! You are fullmof awesomesauce...You rock! Don't ever think otherwise... Love you! 3 3**

**Mira: Thank you so much for taking the time to review and letting me know. I'm glad you like the story! :)**

**Chloe: I updated early just for your desperation for the next chapter! :O**

**Goode-lover: the chapter dedication should let you know how happy I am that you took the time out to review! :P**

**SageWinter: You totally rock at awesomeness! I always love you consistent reviews and your advice really helps too! Love you! :D**

**Miss Megatron: Adrian is _my _hero... he's just perfect! *dreamy expression on face***

**Useless at Usernames: Mwah Mwah! I love reading your reviews- umpteenth means a lot of times. =)**

**I love you all so **

**much! Enjoy this lovely chapter...**

**Disclaimer: I own only the plot, and not even Adrian... Only in my dreams I do. ; D I don't own doctor who either, sadly. D:**

It was only after Adrian had left that I realised that the book was actually in his possession. In a fit of sudden anger at the way he seemed to know my every thought, I had dumped the book on him, but now I realised that the last thing I wanted was for him to own a book with all my thoughts inside. My dilemma was that I couldn't just ask for it; that would only spark his interest, and make his curiosity about the book grow.

I would rather see Adrian than spend another moment listening to my father sing Keith's praises though.

I smiled at the memory of Keith's expression when Adrian had frightened him; it had almost been as good as in the book.

But the book Keith obviously had a better reason to be scared of book Vampire Adrian, which was why this was such an accomplishment.

I stood slightly to the side of them, not wanting to stand beside either of them.

"It's a shame you and Carly are not together anymore, you would have been a good influence on her," my father said, practically falling to Keith's feet in gratitude of him being such an... there was no words to describe how much of an absolute idiot Keith was.

He was the devil's spawn.

My face must have showed disgust because my father then turned to me. "Isn't Keith the perfect example for other's to follow, Sydney?" His mouth twisted when he said my name, as though he would be inflicted with some horrible disease by saying it.

No matter how far I went to please my father, this was one line I couldn't cross. I could not praise the man that had ruined my sister's life. I was no longer allowed to speak to Carly because of what Keith had done; she had been disowned by my father for something that wasn't even her fault.

I barely managed to suppress my anger as I turned to Keith. How dare he come back here when Adrian and I had both specifically made sure that he had got the message that he wasn't welcome here? And he had entered using his own key, despite what I had said earlier.

"I need to be somewhere, and I don't want to be late, sir. I'll see you around sometime, Keith."

Hopefully, 'sometime' would never come.

But I was in for no such streak of luck. My father had invited him over to our house on Sunday, so that he could 'accompany me to church'.

Recently, I had been forced to spend an unusual amount of Keith, and all the arrangements for outings together had been made by my father. I t

hink he had some silly notion that by making me spend time with him, I would suddenly start liking him. Actually, all the outings had just managed to make me loathe him even more.

"Actually Syd," I clenched my jaw to stop myself from punching him, You'll see me when you get back... because I'm moving in."

He flashed me what was supposed to be a killer smile, but I just felt like killing him- and me.

My brain couldn't seem to function, and before I could stop myself, I blurted out, "What the heck are you on about? There is no way I'm living in the same house as you."

I lowered my tone slightly after my father began to glower at me, but I didn't bite my tongue.

This was one thing I couldn't stay quiet about. There was no way I was going to stay under the same roof as that sleaze-bag.

My father put a restraining arm on my upper arm and I fought the sudden urge to push it off. That wouldn't get me anywhere. I tried to think of a legitimate excuse as to why I was so against Keith living here.

If I told everyone the truth, no one would believe me because Keith was the golden boy and not to mention, I couldn't betray Carly like that.

"Sir, with Zoe..I don't think having someone else here would be good for any of us, especially Jill, even if the person in question is ...like family."

More like the guy who raped your daughter and had his hands all over me this morning. I shivered just thinking about the look in his eyes as he had said my name.

"That is exactly why Keith suggested it."

Keith had suggested it? Why, what was his reason for doing so? He had an ulterior motive and I was going to find out, even if it got me killed. Maybe I was being melodramatic, but there wasn't a price that I wouldn't pay to let the world know who Keith really was.

My father didn't say any more on the topic, but I hadn't expected him too. He didn't ever feel the need to explain himself to anyone.

I couldn't nod, I couldn't speak, but there was no way I was going to agree to this; I just had no idea how I was going to stop it from happening. No one would believe perfect Keith could be in the wrong, but I was going to change their minds somehow.

But for now, I knew I had to get away from here and away from that stupid face.

I honestly felt like poking out his one good eye.

"I'll go now, sir," I said quickly. As I grabbed my car keys, I saw Keith's set of _m__y _house keys, and suddenly getting a bout of courage, I slipped them into my bag. If I had anything to do with it, meaning if I had to answer the door, there was no way he was coming in.

And where was he going to sleep anyway? Carly's room had been turned into a study!

I walked back into the kitchen and tried to maintain a cool facade. "Sir, how are we going to accomodate him, we don't have a spare room?"

"You will give your room up for the time being and sleep on the couch; you wouldn't want him to be uncomfortable would you, Sydney?" He leered at me, almost daring me to object.

There was no way I was going to fall into his game and be controlled by him.

_You already are._

"I will try to find alternate living accomodations, sir. I do not wish to become a burden."

My father's face contained shock and anger; that was the last thing he had been expecting me to say.

My feeling of victory was short-lived however; all my savings were in my father's possession which he had insisted upon, and with just $100 to my name currently, I had no idea what I was going to do.

I set off in Latte, hoping answers would come to me whilst I drove around aimlessly looking for cheap motels.

But help finally came in an unexpected form- Adrian.

I had rang him earlier to ask if I could come over and he had given me his address to which I drove to now.

I found a nondescript apartment in its place and I raised my hand to knock hesitantly. The door opened a couple of seconds later, revealing Adrian in a cerulean blue button-down shirt, paired with dark jeans which made his legs seem even longer.

"Where was your job interview today, Sage?" He said, pulling the door wider so that I could walk in.

I looked at him in confusion, until he gestured to my clothes. I had on a white blouse and khakis. My mouth twitched, but I didn't smile. He was laughing at me, after all.

"So, Sage finally realises how funny I am, even if she can't admit it!" Adrian grinned.

"Get over yourself, Adrian."

"Ooh, burned!" said someone from the kitchen.

"That's your job Pyro, not mine," Adrian replied dryly.

"Oh, who's this? Your new girlfriend?" came the voice from the kitchen. A man with startlingly blue eyes and dark hair walked out soon after, drying his hands on a towel.

"Well, isn't this nice? I knew you had good taste, Ivashkov, even if that side of you doesn't come out often."

"No, I'm not his girlfriend," I said quickly to the stranger. "I'm Sydney Sage, pleased to meet you." I held out my hand for him to shake.

"So, you're Sydney Sage, the non-girlfriend. Yeah, I'm Christian Ozera, all round awesome person," he said, smirking, taking my hand.

"Well, it's refreshing to see that not everyone is as big-headed as Adrian," I replied, smiling.

"And it's nice to see that I'm the only one you're horrible to," Adrian laughed. "No, but seriously, why am I the only one that has to feel your wrath?" He looked genuinely interested.

I sighed, because I had no answer to that question. He was right, the way I behaved towards him was totally different to how I treated other people that I had only known for a short period of time. That puzzled me more than I cared to admit.

"Wait, I knew I was being stupid. You just said you'd broken up with your girlfriend, of course this beauty isn't her!" Christian said, slapping his head.

Adrian smiled, but there was no humour behind it like there usually was. He seemed as though he was trying to force a facade of happiness, but I could see right through it due to his rigid posture.

"The cake is in the oven, I'll leave you two to enjoy it, I'm gonna spend some time with _my _girl now," he said.

I raised my eyebrows at the word cake, but otherwise didn't comment, except to mutter a goodbye to Christian.

He decided I would be fun to talk to and punched his digits into my phone, and whistled the theme tune to _Doctor Who _as he walked out.

"Seems like a bunch of fun." I took a seat on the most horrible plaid couch I had ever seen in my entire life and wrinkled my nose. "Adrian, I hope this couch isn't an indication of what the rest of your decor is like."

"Nope," he said cheerfully, sitting on the coffee table and grinning when I narrowed my eyes at him.

'"Adrian, get off the table. It's not there for sitting on. This awful thing is." I patted it beside me.

"If you wanted me to sit beside you, you should've just said."

I rolled my eyes and scooted over, so I sat as far away from him as I could.

"What's the special occasion, then?"

"The cake?"

I nodded, curious.

"Oh, Christian acted like we made it, he just brought it from his bakery for his friend that's coming over tomorrow."

"Oh."

"So, what brings you here, Sage?"

I took in a deep breath and just blurted out what was on my mind. I had no idea why I had come here of all places, and then I realised that I had nowhere else to go.

That thought left me feeling more lonelier than ever, but then Adrian spoke and it didn't seem so bad.

"Earth to Sage..."

"Hmm? Oh, yeah," I paused for a split moment, but I knew that Adrian would be an impartial advisor. "Keith's moved in to my house."

I braced myself for the storm that was sure to come.

"You're not staying there," he said calmly. "You can stay here."

I gaped at him, unsure if I had really heard what I just thought I did.

"What?"

He finally noticed my bewildered expression and rushed to correct his statement, though not in the way I had expected him to.

"I don't mean it in that way, Sage. You can stay in the spare room."

"I can't leave Jill with him there, no one should have to deal with him, least of all her, especially after what happened."

I didn't mention Zoe, and Adrian seemed to know why and didn't ask for explanations as to why she shouldn't stay there, for which I was thankful.

"She can stay here too."

"She wouldn't leave my mum, and I don't think she wants to leave because our house is where she feels closest to Zoe," I finished in a whisper.

"How about we do this then? Stay here for a night and if you really get worried, I'll drop you off there. Or you can ring Jill now, and explain the situation to her and see what she says."

"Second option."

There was no way I could last here for a full night knowing Jill was in the same house as that monster.

He waited patiently whilst I told Jill everything, to which Jill replied, "Sydney, do you really think I'm stupid?"

I could only stare at the phone in horror. Where was this coming from? But her reply made me relax just slightly.

"Do you think I haven't realised what a sleaze Keith is? Do you think I don't know that you hate him? I don't know why, but the fact that you do is enought proof to me that Keith isn't a very nice guy, no matter how he acts around us and no matter how much Zoe loved him."

I nodded but her last sentence had caught my attention. "Wait, what do you mean Zoe loved him? In a big brotherly way, right?"

But even before she answered, I knew I was wrong and my worst fear was true. Zoe had been _in love_ with Keith.

Did this have anything to do with the car accident? Even as the thought came to my head, I immediately dismissed it, thinking it was a stupid far-fetched idea, born from my hatred of Keith.

I wished I hadn't though. Maybe then I would've realised sooner.

Jill bade me good night and talked to Adrian for a while before disconnecting the phone.

I turned to Adrian.

"I guess I'm staying here, then."

"That you are." He got up and gave me a tour of the apartment, showing me his ghastly yellow walls proudly and then the contents of his fridge.

I saw with dismay that it contained hardly anything I would deem edible except a lone doughnut peach.

I took it out and rolled it around in my hands, wondering if it was ripe.

Adrian scratched his head sheepishly. "I have no idea what that's supposed to be or even if it's edible."

"Its a fruit- a doughnut peach, to be exact."

"Oh. Christian's girlfriend brought it over, saying I needed to have my five-a-days. I guess she meant fruit and veg."

"What did you think it meant?"

Adrian quickly changed the subject and I smiled to myself, wondering what exactly he wasbhiding.

"I'm guessing you have nothing to wear for pyjamas?" he said, leaning against the fridge.

I shook my head, saying, "I'll have to make do and go tomorrow to get my stuff."

"So you're really staying here? I guess you can borrow some of my stuff for a day."

"Even your hair gel?" I smirked, already knowing the answer.

"No way! It's way to precious to waste!" He looked astonished amd downright terrified just thinking of the idea of me taking his hair gel.

I yawned then, two sleepless nights were taking its toll on me.

Adrian immediately went to his room to find something half-decent for me to wear, and I brushed my teeth in his bathroom, uskng a spare toothbrush.

I got ready into a plain white shirt and shorts, that came up to mid-calf because of the several inches he had on me. When I exited the bathroom, he whistled.

"I can't wait to see what you actually wear to bed, Sage."

I made a mental note to not bring any of my boy shorts or tank tops, and made my way to the spare bedroom, which would be my refuge now for an unknown period of time.

"I guess we're not in Kansas anymore," I whispered to myself.

I heard Adrian chuckle behind me, and before I could stop myself, I asked, "You've read the book?"

"No, I've watched the movie like every normal human being, Sage."

'Bye Adrian," I said firmly, shutting the door firmly on his face.

Those eyes were making me feel weird.

I shifted in the bed and clamped a pillow over my face and named all the elements in the periodic table.

But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't seem to fall asleep.

So when something small brushed against my leg and I screamed in shock, and when a knock came at the door and a concerned voice whispered, 'Sage?',

I said, without a second's hesitation, "Come in."

**A/N: I hope you all enjoyed that. I think I loved the ending... I wonder what's going to happen! :P**

**Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, favourited, followed, or just read this story so far; thank you for giving it a chance. I know it didn't have the best start with Zoe dying, but I hope you like it now!**

**Who can guess what happens in the next chapter? **

**It's related to a question I asked you all in the last chapter... ; D**

**Favourite line or quote anyone? **

**Bye,**

**CherrySlushLover**

**Xxx**


	9. Chapter 9: Discovering Hopper

**A/N: This chapter is dedicated to Miss MegatronIvashkov for always reviewing and for reacting the same way to Adrian as I do... but I love him more! *glaring at everyone who tries to take Adrian away***

**Eddie is coming! That's what the answer to the last chapter's question was!**

**And there's also another appearance from a character introduced somewhere in the Indigo Spell; he's won a lot of hearts, including mine! But he's not in the form you expect, because this is obviously an All Human fanfic! Any ideas?**

**Disclaimer: No matter how much Adrian wants to belong to me, he is owned completely by Richelle Mead and I still only own the plot. *sniffling***

I turned on the bedside lamp and shuffled over so Adrian could sit, trying hard not to stare at his bare chest.

I realised there was no way I could have a serious conversation with him whilst he was looking like that, so I sighed as though I couldn't stand the sight of him and said,

"Adrian, wear a shirt, please."

He immediately got defensive. "Well, you screamed, and its not like it's my fault I'm this gorgeous, is it?"

"Adrian, just wear something."

He left with a smirk on his face and reappeared thirty seconds later pulling a top over his head.

I admired the way the muscles flexed in his back as he stretched, and quickly reprimanded myself for thinking those thoughts and instead thought about how well-proportioned my room was.

He looked at me expectantly and when he realised I wasn't going to speak, he asked, "

So, Sage, why did you scream? Is it so I would come to your rescue like the heroic and chivalrous person I am?"

Suddenly remembering the fright I had gotten earlier, I jumped out of bed and pulled the covers back. When that didn't reveal anything, I stuck my head under the bed.

"Something was crawling on my leg, and I got scared. And don't flatter yourself, Adrian."

I really hoped it wasn't a huge spider, but I was sure no spider was that large. Adrian just watched me search every nook and cranny surrounding the bed with a small grin on his face and my patience finally cracked.

He tended to bring out the worst in me.

"You know what it is, don't you?"

Something tickled my foot and I spun around, Adrian totally forgotten. I frowned at what I saw. It was a beautiful white cat with black markings around its ears and tail, and he stared up at me with large green eyes. "You have a cat?"

"I still need to name him. Any ideas?"

"I got frightened because of a cat? And you just failed to let me know that you had one?" I struggled to keep my voice low, my temper rising. I should have just booked myself a hotel room.

_Yeah, and how far would $100 get you, Sydney? At least Adrian offered. Who else do you know that would have done that for you?_

I knew I was overreacting, but I just couldn't believe that Adrian had seen me lose my calm. I was always so composed, and after trying so hard to maintain my facade, a cat had broke it.

"Isn't he the cutest thing you've ever seen? And he's still nameless..." he trailed off.

Adrian's plans to distract me weren't working. I couldn't believe I had gotten so freaked out by a cat, especially one as cute as this! He was still sat at my feet, looking up at me and purring slightly.

When I continued to frown at Adrian, he threw his arms up in surrender.

"I only got him today! Actually, I found him making himself at home on my couch; I must have left the front door open," Adrian said, shrugging his shoulders as though adopting stray cats was a regular thing.

"Well, this just gets better and better. You do know he needs to be checked over by a vet for any illnesses, right? And he didn't bring in any dead mice, did he?"

My automatic responses to random situations such as this was to go through a mental list in my head, concentrating on what I needed to do, and not how I should actually react.

Zoe had always said that I was bossy because I micro-managed everything, whilst I called it being prepared for anything. This was obviously a good thing because Adrian didn't seem in the least bit concerned about his health or the cat's. He just lounged on my bed, his arms tucked behind his head, his feet dangling off the end. The perfect picture of calm, except for a slight tightening of his eyes at my words.

The shade of his eyes were actually prerty similar to the cat's eyes, but Adrian's were darker and... his words interrupted my train of thought.

"I'm not totally useless, Sage. I've already got him checked and I've bathed him, even though he hated it, and I fed him, though he seemed to have more interest in my pie than his food." Adrian chuckled and picked the cat up.

I sighed. "I didn't say that you're useless. I was just worried. And I guess he does need a name then. We can't just keep calling him 'the cat' or 'he'."

I took a seat again, my arm just brushing against Adrian's on the small bed. Goosebumps erupted on contact, but I put it down to the slightly cool air. Adrian looked at me from the corner of his eye, but I avoided his questioning gaze and scratched the cat's ears. He immediately jumped out of Adrian's hands and into mine, purring contentedly.

"Well, I feel so loved."

Adrian suddenly coughed and scratched the back of his neck.

"I've been thinking, if you don't mind, that we could call him Hopper? It's just that Zoe would've wanted it, I think."

I still couldn't being myself to look at him, trying to keep my emotions in check at his words. Hopper was a perfect name even though it didn't really make sense, and Adrian was right: Zoe would have loved it. The fact that he had even remembered my words gave me a pleasant shock and I smiled gratefully at him, conveying my unspoken thanks through my smile.

'Hopper it is, then."

Hopper seemed to recognise that that was his new name and he jumped out of my hands to run around the room, almost as though he was showing us his approval of it.

We watched him for a while, until the silence suddenly became oppressive and Adrian cleared his throat, a clear sign to me that he was about to say something 'amusing'.

I was right.

"So, this the second day in a row that I'm in your bed, Sage. Is there something you're not telling me?" He smirked.

I glowered at him, but this just seemed to spark his amusement and he raised an eyebrow, and threw the duvet over himself, getting comfortable.

An idea forming in my head, I got under the blanket myself. My heart leaped slightly at our close proximity and even Adrian seemed surprised, but nothing was larger than the shock he felt when I mustered up all my strength and pushed him. He fell off the bed and I couldn't stop the laugh that escaped my mouth at his expression.

Hopper decided to see what all the fuss was about too and decided to sit on Adrian's face, causing a furious Adrian to swear under his breath.

I was sure some of those insults were for me, but I didn't care much. It had been totally worth it.

Amd people thought that I was too serious. Admittedly, Adrian did seem to make my less reserved side come out more often than I liked.

It had been a pure Kodak moment.

"I guess that you want to go to your own room then?" I said sweetly.

He grumbled and stood up, and I smiled to myself.

_Sydney: 1_

_Adrian: 0_

Just as he was leaving, I recalled something I had been meaning to ask him all day. "Adrian, can I have my Bloodlines book back?"

"Your Bloodlines book?" He smirked, leaning against the door frame and folding his arms.

"It's from my point of view, so yeah, it is technically private and therefore, for my eyes only."

"Oh, so you've finally admitted book Sydney is you! Which means you find me hot."

"Just give me the book, Adrian," I sighed, but I didn't reply to his obnoxious comment because I had no idea what to say.

He threw the book at me and shut the door behind him. Hopper sat alert on his shoulder almost like he was Adrian's bodyguard.

Just before the door shut on his face, his lips tilted up in a half-smile. "If you wanted to fall asleep looking at my face, you should've just asked. I would've given you the real thing."

Damn.

_Sydney: 1_

_Adrian: 1_

Only after he left did I realise that the temperature in the room was actually a lot lower than it had been when Adrian was here

. Shivering, I wrapped the blanket around me, which now smelt of clove cigarettes and cologne, and closed my eyes, to have the best sleep I had had in a very long time.

The doorbell rang and I rushed to answer it, knowing that it would be Jill with my clothes. So when I answered the door and found a man with a suitcase behind him, you can understand why I was shocked. I held out my hand and he gripped it firmly.

"Eddie Castile."

"Sydney Sage."

I moved aside to let him pass, knowing that this was most likely the friend that Adrian had been expecting over.

Nice of him to remind me before I came out still wearing his shirt.

Thankfully, Eddie was too polite to comment and Adrian decided to break the silence that had ensued, arriving from the kitchen with a large cream cake in his hands.

"Welcome, Castile, to my humble abode. We even made a cake."

Eddie raised his eyebrows and pushed his suitcase into a corner. "Never thought I'd see the day when you and Christian would cook."

"He didn't. They got it from the bakery." I grinned at Eddie, who smiled back, a brief show of comradeship against Adrian.

Adrian narrowed his eyes at us and pointed an accusing finger, taking a seat on the couch.

I felt like I was a suspect for a crime under his scrutiny; Eddie's relaxed attitude showed that he didn't feel the same way as I did, except for the way his eyes were constantly taking in our surroundings.

"You're already ganging up on me. Sage, first it was with Pyro, and now Castile? What do you have against me- I'm brilliant!"

"Ever considered that it might be your ego?"

He threw a hand to his chest as though wounded by my words. "Your harsh words pierce my heart, Sage. Whatever can I do to earn your love and trust?" His words were at odds with the smirk that was spreading across his face.

My heart did speed up slightly at the word 'love' but I put that down to the fact that no one ever really associated that word with me, except Jill, and sometimes, my mum. Dad didn't like any public displays of affection, even something as small as three words.

"You can lose the ego, and then maybe I'll change my perception of you," I joked.

Not that I would ever say this to him, but it was actually his attitude to life that made him Adrian, and without it, I wouldn't know who he was. That was what made him up; the way he used his sarcasm and wit to hide his true feelings. And I knew that he felt things deeply, from the way I sometimes caught him staring into space with a haunted expression on his face, to the way he cared so much for Jill.

"Sydney, open up! I've got your bags!" Jill called from outside, making me jump.

Breathing a sigh of relief, I pulled the door open and took my bag off her; she looked like she was drowning under its weight even though it was quite light.

Adrian introduced Jill and Eddie to one another, and Jill blushed furiously and bit her lip when she shook his hand.

Eddie wasn't much better either.

He stumbled slightly over his name and suddenly realising that our surnames were the same, he said,

"Wait, you're sisters?"

Adrian chuckled. "No shit. Really?"

But I just nodded. "Yeah, she's my younger sister."

My voice shook slightly when I saaid sister, because normally Zoe and Jill got introduced together. I think this was the first time I had ever said sister, and not sisters, when introducing her.

I know it sounded stupid, but it was true. At least no one had caught me out. Adrian caught my gaze and smiled at me, telling me silently to be strong.

Gulping, I excused myself from their company and took my time getting changed, knowing Jill would appreciate the time to talk to Adrian.

Unfortunately, this wasn't exactly my best idea, as it gave Adrian an opportunity to fill her in on my embarrassment last night. She was chortling by the time I returned, towel-drying my hair.

Adrian stared at me for a moment before realising what he was doing and lowering his gaze to smirk at Jill.

"Yes, she actually got scared of Hopper!"

"But he's so adorable," Jill crooned, stroking Hopper's back, who looked like he was in heaven.

I rolled my eyes and gestured to Adrian to follow me into the kitchen.

He stood immediately and shut the door behind us. "What's happened, Sage? Are you alright?"

I'm fine," I brushed off his concern. "It's just that- have you never thought about why there's a book about us? What the reason for it is?"

Adrian shook his head, clearly mystified as to where I was going with this. A small frown appeared between his eyebrows and he leaned closer to me, clearly unintentional.

I moved back slightly and so did he after he noticedhow close we had gotten.

"Well, maybe it's to warn us about events in the future, or see if we can change something. What I was thinking was that we should read the book, together, properly, and see if it-"

"Makes any sense,"Adrian finished.

I nodded, glad that he knew what I was talking about. "Like you said, the vampires and alchemists and the spirit-it's all some sort of metaphor for something in our lives."

"So I am basically a blood sucker,"Adrian said, mock-seriously.

"We need to figure it out. Shall we start reading today? The sooner, the better, I think."

"Yeah, it's a date."

He just couldn't help himself, could he?

I rolled my eyes at him and walked back into the living-room, where Eddie and Jill seemed to be looking anywhere but each other, despite having a conversation about some movie that was on in the cinemas.

Adrian sat between them and slung an arm around Jill, who blushed.

"You aren't asking my Jill out on a date, are you, Castile? Because she's fifteen." His words were light and joking, but I could tell he was letting Eddie know that Jill was off boundaries... for now anyway.

She was a minor.

"I'm not a little kid, Adrian! " Jill said hotly.

"I never said you were; can't I at least pretend to be a protective older brother to you?"

For some odd reason, he looked at me when he said he wanted to be a big brother for Jill, as though he was implying that he didn't want to be my brother. I ignored this because it made me feel slightly queasy and I didn't have an answer for his motives yet, which was a constant thorn in my side.

"I guess so," Jill replied reluctantly.

"Are we going to cut the cake or not?" Eddie asked impatiently, trying to take the sudden tension in the air away. "Because I'm starving, and it looks gorgeous."

This was around the time I disappeared to my room, claiming to have unpacking to do, but Adrian saw right through it. He knew that I was avoiding eating the cake, because he had been there when my father had said 'those things'.

I received a text about ten minutes after my departure from him.

_Don't think that I didn't realise. We're having cake later during our reading session, whether you want to or not. Hopper seems to like it, anyway._

Just as Adrian had predicted, I ran back to the kitchen to protect Hopper from poisoning. Adrian laughed as I shouted at him which made me even madder. Adrian had a reply to every single sentence I threw at him.

"You two argue over stupid things like a married couple," Jill laughed suddenly.

That effectively put an end to it.

She leaned backin her chair, looking slightly smug about something.

And it seemed as though I was the only one in the dark about what that look meant.

**A/N: Finally, you kind of understand where I want to go with this! Basically, they're going to use the book to try and discover what life has in store for them and how they can try to stop it.**

**Think about Keith... ;P**

**Ideas, anyone? :D**

**I hope you liked the slight Jeddie (I j'adore Jeddie) and woohoo to Hopper! Yes,hopper is a cat, but I couldn't exactly make him a dragon that's the product of a spell, could I? I included his love for pie though!**

**Did you expect the thing that scared Sydney to be a cat? I didn't! **

**Hope you enjoyed the chapter! **

**Review? :)**

**Xxx**


	10. NOTICE: IMPORTANT PLEASE READ

**A/N: Hey readers. So I have some bad news. Vampire Princess33, the author I was co-writing this story with, went on holiday a month back and after she returned, she decided that I would be better writing the story by myself because she liked the direction I took it in. If you want a reminder of her work, she wrote Chapter Two and Chapter Four. **

**I have written Chapter 1,3,5,6,7,8, and 9, so if you liked the way I was writing the story and would like me to continue, please leave a review to let me know and I will carry it on. I do love this story and love writing it, so I would love it if I had people wanting me to carry it on!**

**But if you think that I shouldn't carry the story on, just let me know too. I understand that vampire princess33 is a brilliant author and you may not want to see it continued without her.**

**I have written chapter 10 already, so when I do come to a decision (probably after reading your reviews) I will post it as a new chapter because sometimes it gets quite confusing when it still says there's 10 chapters!**

**So I'll write soon hopefully! :D**

**I love all you readers and thank you so much for all the reviews, faves and follows so far! **

**CherrySlushLover**

**xxx**


	11. Chapter 10: Unexpected

**A/N: This chapter is dedicated to I Know I'm A Dreamer for your review! They have recently been a word or phrase that just makes me laugh so much because they are so nonsensical and random, and I really appreciate you taking the time out to review! :D**

**Thank you to everyone who reviewed on my notice; all the reviews meant that much that I am going to mention every one of you!**

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**You all convinced me to carry on writing. I'm so happy I've got so many dedicated fans and I love you all more than you could ever know. **

**I hope you all enjoy this chapter!**

_**I am on holiday so I don't have the book on me, and I had to read a lot to find the book quotes, so that was why this chapter took a while to get out. I apologise for any mistakes with the original text. This chapter was supposed to be quite different, but I had to cut out a lot of text I was planning on using...**_

**Thank you to everyone who doesn't have an account on fanfiction and takes the time to voice your thoughts on the chapter... I love you!  
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**Disclaimer: Still only own the plot.**

"Hopper," I called, looking under the kitchen table. I hadn't seen him since Jill had left, and that had been a few hours back now.

"If I didn't know better, I would've said you've grown attached."

Adrian, taking a seat at the table, grabbed the toast I had just made for myself, making sure that he dropped crumbs everywhere. Giving up my search reluctantly, I glowered at him.

"I am not attached, and do you have some sort of aversion to tidiness?"

"Do you have some sort of aversion to the slightest bit of mess?" he retorted.

"Somehow, I'm finding an increasing amount of similarities between you and a vampire," I muttered under my breath.

"Sorry, I didn't quite catch that. What did you say about vampires?"

"It doesn't matter. I was just saying that I think we should start reading the book tonight. The sooner we figure it out, the better."

He just nodded his consent. Clearly he was too absorbed in eating to talk to, so I wandered to the living room.

"Hey Eddie, have you seen Hopper?"

His eyes fluttered open and he grinned sheepishly. "Jill may have taken him."

"What? I have to go and get him back! My dad will probably murder him if he finds out!" I hurriedly got my car keys and made my way to the order with Eddie following close behind. Being the chivalrous guy he was, he had offered to come with me so I wouldn't be alone.

Adrian strolled in at that moment, clearly satisfied with his dinner. "Sage, aren't... wait, where are you going?" His eyes flicked between Eddie and I, his forehead creasing quizzically.

"Jill took Hopper with her, so we're going to go save him." Eddie had replied with ease, but for some odd reason, I couldn't think of a response. I had the strangest feeling that I had done something wrong, yet I had no idea what.

"Are you leaving?" he asked quietly, with an undertone of something I couldn't quite detect.

"Obviously." What a stupid question. What did he think we were doing?

"Sorry, I didn't realise it was so bad living here." His eyes had gone hard, revealing no emotion and I suddenly realised what he had meant.

"Oh, Adrian, I didn't mean it like that! I'm coming back, I wouldn't leave without warning!"

"Nice to know you would warn me next time you decide you want to leave."

"Adrian, I didn't mean it like that!"

But he was already walking to his room, shutting the door firmly behind him.

I made to follow him, but Eddie stopped me by putting an arm on my shoulder. "Don't worry about it. He's Adrian. He gets like this sometimes."

I marvelled at the way he had just brushed off Adrian as a person; didn't Adrian deserve someone to go after him? But I did need to still retrieve Hopper, so I left without looking back. It wasn't like I wouldn't be returning.

We reached my house with not too many mishaps, apart from when Eddie attempted to switch on the radio. I had hastily slapped his hand away; for some odd reason, the first programme that came on the radio was one called 'The Love Doctor'. I hadn't left it on long enough to find out what it was about.

It was only when Jill came to the door that I figured out why Eddie had really wanted to go with me. So he could see Jill. I wasn't exactly sure how I felt about it yet, seeing as Jill was still only fifteen.

As soon as she saw my face, she started rambling.

"I didn't mean to take him! He's just so cute and he likes me so I just carried him out! And you know I miss our cat! You were in the other room anyway so you didn't notice and Eddie didn't stop me so I didn't think it was a problem!"

She still hadn't let us take a single step inside, but just as I was about to point this out, Keith arrived.

"What's the problem, Jill?" He spoke as though I was the problem here, even though he was technically in my house. The nerve of him!

I smirked a little at Jill's blatant disgust at his nearness to her, whilst Eddie seemed to be sizing him up to see how much of a threat he was. Quite a big threat, judging by his expression. I noticed that Eddie had also moved slightly closer to Jill.

"Nothing, Keith. You can go." Her clear dismissal of him brought a smile to my lips and I couldn't stop the small chuckle that escaped from my lips.

"Glad I managed to amuse you," came Keith's reply.

What? Oh, he did not what he had just started.

"Oh, just seeing you amuses me, Keith," I replied dryly. With your stupid eye forever scarred.

He frowned slightly, clearly not understanding what I was hinting at, and with a final bloody wink, he disappeared back into the house. He was a worse than I remembered.

I turned back to Jill.

"And stop worrying, Jill. It's just that Hopper is still quite young and too much change isn't healthy for him, that's all. But you can obviously come over and see him any time you like."

"I can?" She clapped her hands, barely restraining herself from squealing.

I nodded and took she quickly walked in to retrieve Hopper.

"We're not going in?" Eddie asked, frowning. I could understand why that confused him.

"No, my mum isn't at home and my father is either at work or in his study. There's no reason for me to go in."

"Oh." I could tell that he was curious about my words but had decided to not press for more information because it would be rude. If Jill had been older, I would have said they went well together, but it wasn't my place to say. My father was the one that interfered in everyone's lives; I didn't want to do the same thing.

"So how long have you known Adrian for?" asked Eddie suddenly, breaking the comfortable silence we had fallen into.

I shifted from foot to foot, remembering how we had met. "A couple of weeks. He saved Jill from a car accident."

"I thought it had been longer, considering how much he mentions you."

"What? We hardly spoke until recently."

This news was bewildering; why would Adrian speak about me and what did he say? That he felt sorry for me? Or that he owned a book containing my deepest thoughts? But whatever way I looked at it, I couldn't figure it out and I also couldn't understand why that news gave me butterflies.

"Oh. Maybe I got my wires crossed then. Sorry."

"It's fine. It happens sometimes."

"Yeah, he's probably talking about some girl he's been with recently,"

I swallowed at the mere thought of Adrian with those girls, but Eddie continued as though nothing had happened. Well, technically, nothing had happened.

"But it's strange. I've never heard Adrian talk about a girl like that, not even Rose. It's like this girl can do no wrong, and trust me, he used to get plenty annoyed at Rose. Maybe he's finally found someone good, but somehow I doubt it. He is Adrian, after all," Eddie finished casually.

He had brushed Adrian off so easily! Why did everyone say that for? But Jill appeared at that moment, carrying a very alert and ruffled Hopper.

"He is not just Adrian," she said angrily. "He is loyal and loving and kind and he's always there for me! So don't ever say that about him again, Eddie! It's not fair that you all treat him like this millionaire playboy all the time, when he isn't! He does have feeling too and maybe you should think about how you would feel if someone always put you down at every chance possible!"

She passed Hopper to me and walked back inside, fuming, not looking back once.

I couldn't help but smile slightly at her outburst; I was glad that she had defended Adrian, and I knew that I would have if she hadn't. However, instead of Jill's obvious fury towards Eddie, he just looked slightly awestruck and I had to call his name two times before he actually answered and sat in Latte.

We reached home- I mean, Adrian's apartment- in record time, but I almost wished I hadn't.

After feeding Hopper and brushing his fur, I resolutely knocked on Adrian's bedroom door and pushed it open slightly when he didn't reply after the third knock.

"Adrian?"

Still no answer.

He had brought this upon himself. I crept in and shut the door behind me, but there was no need. Adrian was asleep, and I turned to exit the way I had entered when I heard my name being called.

"Sydney?" He tossed and turned, clearly restless, judging by the way the blankets had wrapped around his limbs in an unusual fashion. And then he bolted upright, his eyes frantic and unseeing, a fine sheen of perspiration covering his forehead.

I rushed over to his side, about to shake him from his mental torture, but my hand froze about an inch away from him. I was suddenly nervous, but I had no idea why.

_Adrian wouldn't want you in his room without his permission, Sydney._

But Adrian was already awake and I didn't really feel like leaving him.

"Sage? What are you doing back?" He had clearly just remembered that we hadn't exactly parted ways very nicely, and that I shouldn't actually be in his room.

"I was coming to apologise, but you were sleeping. I was going to go once I realised though," I said calmly, knowing that the last thing I wanted to do was act guilty.

"I meant, why are you back at the house? I thought you were going to go back to your house," he said bitterly.

I sighed and sat at the edge of his bed, almost instantly regretting it when Adrian froze beside me.

"Sorry," I muttered quickly.

After shifting over so he was further away from me, Adrian shook his head. "No, I'm sorry, Sage. I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions like that so quickly."

He ran a hand through his hair, chuckling when he saw my expression.

"Don't worry about the wellbeing of my hair, Sage! It's messy anyway, and this will just give it a more rugged edge!" He winked and sat back on his pillows, and I knew that we were okay again.

"So what do you say to a bit of reading?"

I nodded and smiled slightly at his keenness to make amends and got up to get the book.

Eddie looked shocked as I exited Adrian's room, but I was quick to correct him.

" just went in to apologise for earlier."

His slow nod showed that there was no way he was falling for that, but he wasn't going to question it further. "I'm going out for a while, but I'll be back in a bit." He wore his jacket, and then examined his appearance in the mirror, trying to sort out his hair.

"Hot date?" I teased.

"No, I just need to make things right," he replied, grinning slightly.

"Flowers work," I said to his retreating figure.

"Thank you for the advice!"

But he made it sound as though my words were anything but.

I guess I wasn't exactly the person to go to for dating advice.

When I finally returned to the bedroom, Adrian's first words were, "Clearly, you had to write the entire book before you got here."

I threw the book at his head, laughing when it met its target.

"Careful, I could get you arrested for domestic violence."

"Adrian, don't get me started on the things I could get you arrested for," I grinned back.

He tapped a finger to his temple, pretending to think.

"Is being too handsome at the top of that list?"

"And here I was thinking your ego couldn't grow any larger," I sighed dramatically, sitting down next to him, but ensuring there was a gap between us. I didn't want a replay of Adrian's earlier disgust.

"And on to the next chapter!" I said loudly, flicking the book open quickly so I didn't have to see my face staring back at me for another second. Adrian, I noted, looked as handsome on the cover as he did in real life.

But that was irrelevant.

**"Abe had the kind of appearance **that could leave many people speechless, even if they knew nothing about him."

I stared at the book in horror. Surely it wasn't the same Abe? There was no getting away from him!

"I know a man called Abe," Adrian added suddenly, frowning. "Scary as hell, but clever."

I left out the small detail that I did too. For all I knew, it was a totally different Abe, and I was just being paranoid. I somehow doubted it though.

**"Oblivious to the heat outside,** the Moroi man was dressed in a full suit and tie. The suit was white, at least, but it still looked like it would be warm. His shirt and tie were purple, as was the rose tucked into his pocket. Gold glittered in his ears and at his throat. He was originally from Turkey and had more color to him than most Moroi but was still paler than humans like me and Keith. Abe's complexion actually reminded me of a tanned person who'd been sick for a while."

"Is it strange that my Abe is exactly the same?"Adrian laughed, but it was a nervous sound. "Oh crap. Does that mean Rose is in this story too?"

**A/N: Hope you enjoyed it, even though this was totally different to what I actually wanted to happen! I'm quite happy though!**

**Questions, opinions, criticism, is all accepted as usual. Leave a review whatever your thoughts please, they are honestly the reason I continue to write!**

**Thank you to everyone who read, reviews, follows and favourites again, I love you all! :D**

_**What do you think of me writing a Chlerek fic forThe Darkest Powers? Anyone interested? Let me know please! :)**_

**xxx**


	12. Chapter 11: Complications

**Summary:**

**Sydney Sage meets the charming Adrian Ivashkov under not-so charming circumstances. He owns a book called Bloodlines, which seems to be about a strange world where vampires, magic and love exist... and they're characters in it. But Adrian isn't a vampire, Sydney isn't an Alchemist, so what can it mean? Sydney fears that there may be more truth in the book than they know, but she knows that if Adrian finds out her suspicions, he will never see her in the same light again. Lies, deceit, love, frustration... the usual Sydrian story!**

* * *

**This chapter is dedicated to the brilliant _Alicella_ _Ivashkov_ for your lovely review! I'm so glad you liked it and I hope you continue to do so! I love you so much for your support and general all round awesomeness! And just make sure you remember that you can have Dimitri, as long as you keep your hands off Adrian! :D**

_**Okay, the late updates are seriously not my fault...FFN is breaking down on me and I can hardly get on it. Anyone else experiencing issues?**_

_**And a a shout out for the story Newbie, by kensi54382! I am going to start beta-ing this story soon, so check it out! :D**_

**Disclaimer: Don't own anything! xx**

_Quick recap: Sydney came to on Adrian's room to apologise for making him upset, and to make amends, Adrian suggested they read the book for a while. Eddie is out making amends for something... you'll find out what later!_

**_Chapter 11: Complications_**

**"I'm sorry," said Abe, leaning forward. His dark eyes glittered. "Did you say your name was Keith Darnell?"**

"Keith's going to get what's coming to him," Adrian laughed gleefully.

I glared at him for a while before he realised that he had broken his promise of being quiet. Covering his mouth with a pillow, he gestured for me to continue. I rolled my eyes at his antics, shifting slightly on the bed to make it more comfortable. Adrian had his arms behind his head, seemingly at ease, but as soon as I shifted, his muscles grew taut. I tried not to dwell on the reason for that as I continued reading.

**"Yes," said Keith. He studied Abe curiously, no doubt recalling the Alchemists' conversation back in Salt Lake City. Even through the bravado Keith was attempting to put on, I could see a sliver of unease. Abe had that effect.**

"The Abe effect," Adrian chortled. This time, I just decided to ignore him.

**"Why?"**

**"No reason," said Abe. His eyes flicked to me and then to Keith. "It just sounds familiar, that's all."**

**"My father's a very important man among the Alchemists," said Keith loftily. He'd relaxed a little, probably thinking the stories about Abe were overrated. Fool. "You've undoubtedly heard of him."**

"Why do I get the strange feeling something disastrous is about to happen?"

"Adrian, shut up! If you would let me read, you would already know if something disastrous was going to happen!" I whisper-shouted.

I wasn't sure if Eddie was back yet, and Hopper was asleep, but if Adrian was right, he would be awake in half an hour anyway. And then he would complain until we fed him, at which I had intervened and told Adrian that Hopper was his responsibility tonight. It sounded as though we were raising a child together.

Back to the topic in hand.

"Stop worrying. We've got enough time to figure out what all of this means,"Adrian replied calmly, even though I had just been screaming at him. My earlier worries arose again and I couldn't stop myself from voicing them, even though I knew that Adrian probably didn't want to hear my petty grievances.

"But what if we don't, Adrian? What if we don't understand why we found the books, and what if we're too late?"

I had finally managed to say what I had been anxious about since Jill had left and I gulped, unsure of why there was something stuck in my throat. And then I was suddenly in Adrian's arms, his hands wiping nonexistent tears off my cheeks. My heart thumped under my suddenly too-revealing pyjama top, but I didn't remove my arms from where they had automatically wrapped around him.

His Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed, as though he didn't understand what was happening either. His hands encircled my waist as I slowly drew away, as though he didn't quite want to let me go just yet.

"Hey, guys. I just wanted to say that I needed a key..." Eddie stood in the doorway and we sprang apart, even though we had done nothing wrong.

"Urm, sorry. I'll just...go," he finished lamely, turning around quickly and shutting the door behind him.

"Yeah, I'll just carry on reading," I said, flicking the book open so I wouldn't have to look at those emerald eyes any more.

The book immediately recaptured my interest due to its subject matter, the words repeating themselves in my mind as though I had already heard all of this before.

**"Undoubtedly," said Abe. "I'm sure that's what it is." He spoke so casually that no one would suspect he wasn't telling the truth. Only I knew the real reason Abe knew who Keith was, but I certainly didn't want that revealed. I also didn't want Abe dropping any more hints, which I suspected he was doing just to irk me.**

"How do you know Abe? And what's Abe lying about?" Adrian asked, not looking at me, but studying his hands instead, as though they were the most interesting things on this planet.

Knowing Adrian, he probably thought they were.

"I don't know."

"Yes, you do, Sydney. And if we are going to figure out why we have this book, you have to tell me," Adrian said, folding his arms defiantly.

He had a point, but it didn't mean I was going to tell him easily either. By telling him, I wasn't giving away just my secret, but also Carly's, and that wasn't my choice to make. On the other hand, maybe this secret was the key to unlocking why _Bloodlines_ was in our possession in the first place.

I was trapped in my own thoughts for a while, remembering the day I had decided to make a deal with the devil.

_'Sydney, you have to tell him. It's important, and not something you can keep hidden anyway.'_

I gasped and lurched backwards as Zoe appeared in front of me, smiling.

"Sage, what's wrong?" Adrian's frantic voice came loud and clear, but I couldn't stop staring at the apparition in front of me. Rubbing my eyes, I looked at Adrian to see his reaction, but his face was etched in concern only for me. He couldn't see what I could see.

"Nothing," I said, not wanting to frighten him away. "I'm just tired, I think."

"We can stop reading if you want," he said, looking for all the world, like he was going to hug me again. A tiny voice in the back of my head betrayed me by thinking that it hadn't been all that bad in Adrian's arms.

My answer came a little too fast as I disagreed with him, and he stared at me like I was losing the plot. Maybe I was.

"Let me read, Sage."

I passed the book over to him, attempting to keep my hands from shaking, but failing miserably.

"Maybe I'm going through coffee withdrawal," I said, attempting to laugh the tension away.

Adrian's face said that he didn't believe me for a moment, but he decided not to comment on it.

**I tried to steer the subject away - and get some answers for myself. "I wasn't aware you were joining us, Mr. Mazur." The sweetness in my voice matched his.**

**"Please," he said. "You know you can call me Abe. And I won't be staying, unfortunately. I simply came along to make sure this group arrived safely - and to meet Clarence in person."**

**"That's very nice of you," I said dryly, sincerely doubting Abe's motives were as simple as that. If I'd learned anything, it was that things were never simple when Abe Mazur was involved. He was a puppet master of sorts. He not only wanted to observe things, he also wanted to control them.**

"Good description of Abe actually, Sage. Congratulations," Adrian added, trying to make me grin. Unfortunately, I realised too late that Adrian was complimenting me in a way, but by this time he had decided to continue.

**He smiled winningly. "Well, I always aim to help others in need."**

**"Yeah," a new voice suddenly said. "That's exactly what comes to mind when I think of you, old man."**

"Is that... it sounds like someone I know." Adrian's surprise grew at my words as he replied,

"Yeah, it sounds like someone I know too."

**I hadn't thought anyone could shock me more than Abe, but I was wrong. "Rose?" The name came out as a question from my lips, even though there could be no doubt about who this newcomer was. There was only one Rose Hathaway, after all.**

"Rose?" We shrieked simultaneously.

"There isn't only one Rose Hathaway, it seems," Adrian remarked, stunned.

"It seems so."

"And that is all for our reading session today, Sage. I can only take too much distress in a day, otherwise it wears off on my brilliant looks," he said, yawning.

I scoffed at his words, but didn't push him, knowing that it must be hard reading about the ex who had just cheated on you days before.

"Make sure you get some sleep, Sage."

"I'm going to get some coffee and then I'm going sleep. Don't worry about me, Adrian."

"It's hard not to worry, Sage," he deadpanned. "You're the girl who drinks caffeine to get to sleep."

"Goodnight, Adrian."

I stood carefully, feeling slightly nauseous and crept out, making sure to avoid Adrian's various paint tubes which were spread across the room. I didn't really fancy being an object of amusement for Adrian, especially whilst I was living with him; there would be no getting away from his constant jibes. I would have to find a box for it tomorrow.

"Bye, Sage."

Just before I shut the door on Adrian's room, I glanced back for some odd reason, to see Adrian looking right at me, a slight frown on his face, accompanied with a smile. Two very contrasting emotions. Waving awkwardly in embarrassment of being caught, I walked through to the kitchen, smiling when I saw the cake Christian had brought over earlier.

That definitely was off the list for eating, so I inspected the fridge's contents instead, rolling an apple in my hand before biting into it gratefully.

"So, you and Adrian, huh?"

The chunk of apple I had just swallowed stuck in my throat, and I rushed over to the sink to gulp down a glass of water. Eyes streaming, I turned to glare at Eddie, who had successfully managed to scare me two times in one night.

"Sorry," he muttered, taking a seat. I joined him, grinning slightly when I saw the tinsel in his hair.

"What are you laughing at?" He said, bemused.

Aha, perfect opopportunity to take the conversation away fromme and Adrian!

"You've got tinsel in your hair; where on Earth did you go at 1:30 in the morning?"

Eddie pulled his fingers through his hair attempting to dislodge the culprit.

"Here, wait."

I pulled it out of his hair and threw it in the bin along with my apple, which had tasted funny.

"I'm taking it that you haven't had your coffee yet, Sage?" Adrian grinned, leaning against the door frame.

"Nope, I'm taking your advice. Maybe caffeine before sleep isn't good for me."

"Really?"

His obvious astonishment at my words left me in a fit of laughter, and I bit it back to answer. "No, it's because you have no coffee, Adrian!"

"Okay, that is pure meanness. You got my hopes up that maybe you were actually agreeing with me for once instead of arguing!"

"She never argues with me," Eddie said helpfully.

"Because she's only known you for a day, Castile. She's temporarily putting on a façade of niceness," Adrian said, straight-faced.

"Not really. I argued with you since I first met you," I replied truthfully, knowing Adrian would undoubtedly have a comeback hidden in his sleeve somewhere.. He did.

I swear, sometimes our relationship felt like a battle of wits, almost like Beatrice and Benedick in Shakespeare's Much Ado about Nothing. Only they had been secretly in love and got together at the end of the book.

Eddie laughed to himself, brushing his clothes down and grabbing his backpack.

My curiosity got the better of me and I asked him something that had bugged me all day. "Why do you carry your backpack everywhere for?"

"In my job, you always have to be prepared," came the inscrutable answer.

Maybe being Adrian's friend for a long time had made him grow accustomed to Adrian's answers that didn't actually answer anything.

"You know that doesn't actually give me an answer, right?"

"I wasn't supposed to."

I was going to die if I stayed in here any longer with these two nutheads. Today had been almost too much and my mind was a jumble of conflicting thoughts and feelings. I had no idea how Adrian and Eddie were still so wide awake but the best thing to do was leaving them to it, so I did.

I could hear their laughter reverberating in my head even after all was quiet. It didn't help that Zoe was the main focus of my dreams until Adrian appeared, taking the nightmares away.

Even in non-reality, he made me feel as though everything would be alright.

**Review :D**

**This story is taking a totally different direction than I had planned, hence the new summary, but I hope you still enjoy it. Please let me know tour thoughts on this chapter and the new summary (what you think it means) via reviewing or PM-ing! **

**Lots of Love **

**CherrySlushLover**

**Xxxx**


	13. Reading Chapter 5: Changes

_**Summary:**_

_**Sydney Sage meets the charming Adrian Ivashkov under not-so charming circumstances. He owns a book called Bloodlines, which seems to be about a strange world where vampires, magic and love exist... and they're characters in it. But Adrian isn't a vampire, Sydney isn't an Alchemist, so what can it mean? Sydney fears that there may be more truth in the book than they know, but she knows that if Adrian finds out her suspicions, he will never see her in the same light again. Lies, deceit, love, frustration... the usual Sydrian story!**_

**A/N: This chapter is dedicated to Lilietje99 for always reviewing, no matter how many chapters she has to catch up on, and for being just generally full of awesomesauce! I hope you continue being awesome and also loving this story! :)**

**_To Jemily 145:_  
**

**If you are reading this, I just needed to say that HopperIvashkinator didn't receive your email address. Leave spaces in it for her to receive it, because fanfiction doesn't allow people to send emails to each other! :D  
**

**Thank you to all my reviewers, followers, and favouriters; I hope you enjoy this extra long chapter! It's my first proper Reading Bloodlines chapter...it took 12 chapters, but I think the plot starts from chapter 5 anyway! :)**

**6295 word chapter! Just for you, my beautiful fans! I love you so much! :-***

**Disclaimer: Only own the plot! :D**

_**And on that note, Rose left me so she could tell the others goodbye.**_

_**Her words left me chilled. For half a second, I wanted to demand a reassessment of this mission.**_

"Sounds like you," Adrian laughed.

"Because you know me so well, Adrian!" He had interrupted me four times already, but I shouldn't have expected anything better. He seemed to love getting me angry.

"Of course I do. We're meant to be together!"

And he was at it again.

"Just let me read."

_**One of the key parts of this plan working was simply not attracting attention. So long as her whereabouts were secret, Jill was safer if she blended in. A squadron of guardians would hardly be discreet and could attract notice from the larger Moroi community. We were doing the right thing. So long as no one knew we were here, all would well.**_

"Is that foreshadowing?" Adrian asked.

"I don't think so," I said, shuffling down on the sofa and throwing the blanket off me. My legs had cramped up from being in the same place for so long. Adrian had stretched out along the couch, his head resting a couple of inches from mine, dangerously close to my shoulder as he read over my shoulder. I tried not to let his closeness freak me out but it was difficult when my heart was doing cartwheels.

_**Surely if I told myself that often enough, it would become true. Yet why Rose's ominous statement? Why Eddie's presence? Had this mission really been bumped from "inconvenient" to "life-threatening"?**_

_**Knowing how close Jill and Rose were, I kind of expected their goodbye to be more tearful. Instead, it was Adrian whom Jill had the most difficulty leaving. She flung herself at him in a giant hug, fingers clinging to his shirt. The young Moroi girl had remained quiet for most of the visit, watching the rest of us in that curious, watchful way of hers. The most I'd heard her talk was when Lee had tried to draw her out earlier. Her goodbye display seemed to surprise Adrian too, though the snarky look he'd worn on his face softened into something like affection as he awkwardly patted her shoulder.**_

"Hey, I don't always have a snarky look on my face!" Adrian exclaimed, sitting upright.

"You sort of do, Adrian. And why is Jill going to miss you so much for?" I frowned at him, honestly wondering what their connection was, not only in the book but in real life too.

He shrugged helpfully, passing me my coffee. "Drink up. It makes you cranky."

I sipped it gratefully. "I guess we'll just have to read on; this author really knows how to keep readers hanging."

"Yeah, what's her name anyway?"

"Someone called Richelle Mead? I'll search her later, see what I can find." I flipped back to the page I was on and continued. My body was aching from lack of sleep but since I didn't know if we had a deadline, it was best if we kept up with the reading. As long as Adrian didn't interrupt after every sentence, we would be fine.

_**He crooked her a grin.**_

Oh god. I knew what effect that had.

_**"No, you don't. Maybe the rest of them can get away with playing back-to-school, but I'd be thrown out on my first day. At least here, I won't corrupt anyone…unless it's Clarence and his liquor cabinet."**_

_**"I'll be in touch," promised Jill.**_

_**His smile twitched, and he gave her a knowing look that was both amused and rueful. "So will I."**_

_**This small moment between them was odd. With his flippant, arrogant nature and her sweet shyness, they seemed like an unlikely pair of friends. Yet there was obvious affection between them. It didn't seem romantic but had a definite intensity I couldn't quite understand.**_

_**Something told me there was a connection between that and what I was witnessing now, but I didn't have enough information to put it all together. I filed this mystery information away for later.**_

"Okay… you must know what it's on about. You do know not knowing is killing me, right?" The book Sydney- I still refused to acknowledge her as me- voiced my thoughts exactly but at least I had the chance to ask Adrian.

He nudged me, winking. "Is that jealousy I detect?"

"No way am I jealous of Jill. I love her to bits!"

"Doesn't stop you from being jealous though, Sage. It's not your fault that I'm this gorgeous."

"Get over yourself, Adrian."

"Why is it impossible for you to read a chapter of a story about your love life without flirting? Just enjoy the book romance!" Said a slightly amused voice.

Eddie again.

Wait, what did he mean by flirting? I didn't flirt! And this book wasn't even a romance between me and Adrian!

"Eddie, you're being absurd. This book isn't even specifically about Adrian and me; he's just a character in the book from my point of view. I am reading my thoughts and they aren't even slightly inclined to him in that way."

"I didn't know anyone could be defensive and calm at the same time. But I guess there's a first time for everything!" Eddie laughed, biting into his doughnut.

Urgh, calories.

Adrian had been silent throughout our entire exchange, only smirking at certain comments. I rolled my eyes at him to show just how baseless this entire conversation was.

"She's still in denial," he told Eddie.

The hypocrite! Yet I still found myself smile slightly at his words; he always said the most ludicrous things. I wasn't in denial about anything. If there was anyone who was, it was him; he honestly didn't realise just how arrogant he was.

"And now you need to disappear, Eddie. Jill rang earlier for you," I said, smirking slightly, already having predicted his reaction.

"She did? When? I didn't even know. I'll just ring her so she knows I wasn't avoiding her," he said. He was gone in ten seconds flat.

Shaking my head, I passed the book to Adrian, indicating that he should read. I had done too much of it for a day.

His voice was rich and melodious, and I almost wondered if he enjoyed reading aloud. Looking at him slyly, I somehow doubted it.

_**"And nothing else bad is going to happen. You're safe. They can't find you here."**_

_**"I know that too," she said.**_

_**"How bad was it?" I asked. "The attack, I mean. No one's getting into details." Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Eddie glance back at Jill again.**_

_**"Bad enough," he said grimly. "But everyone's okay now; that's what matters."**_

_**Neither of them said any more, and I quickly picked up on the hint that no more details would be forthcoming. They acted as though the attack had been no big deal. That it was done and over with, but they were being too evasive. Something had happened that I didn't know about- that the Alchemists likely didn't know about- something that they were working to keep secret.**_

_**My guess was that it had something to with Adrian being here. He had mentioned an "obvious reason" for coming to Palm Springs, and then Abe had hinted at some ulterior motive that Adrian himself didn't know about. It was all kind of annoying, seeing as I was risking my life here. How did they expect me to adequately do my job if they insisted on making this a tangle of secrets?**_

"Stop. How far do you think we'll have to read before finding out what the big secret is?" I asked, confused. "I underlined all the important things that hint at something more in this chapter, but how long until we figure it all out?"

"I don't know, Sage. But the only thing we can do is keep reading. There's clearly something up with book Jill, and whether or not that's also to do with our Jill, I don't know. But I think all the characters in the book and real life are linked. All our characters seem so alike, even though I don't wear a snarky expression on my face like book Adrian and I'm hotter."

"I guess we'll have to keep tabs on our Jill though. I'll let her know that she has to stay careful," I sighed.

He just nodded and continued. I leaned over him to get a better view of the book, and he tensed up again. This time, I didn't move away.

_**Eddie had to have known he couldn't stay in the girls' dorm, though I suspected that if he had his way, he would have slept at the foot of Jill's bed like a loyal dog.**_

"He better not." Adrian said, his fingers tightening around the book as he slowly grew angry.

"Hey," I said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "I'm her sister; I'll take care of Eddie if he does that! And anyway, it's not meant in that way; it's just about how Eddie takes his job as a guardian seriously."

"Look at you, familiarising yourself with all the fancy terminology!"

"Read, Adrian."

"Just because you want to swoon over my voice, I will."

He had to have the last word, didn't he?

_**Now I was finally able to see the system in action and understood why dhampirs trained so hard. You'd have to, to remain that vigilant. Even in the most mundane moments Eddie always watched our surroundings. Nothing escaped his notice.**_

"Blah blah blah..." Adrian mumbled.

_**In some ways, Eddie's concern was comforting and made me feel secure.**_

" I thought I made you feel secure!"

I didn't bother honouring that comment with a response. Before long, he grew bored and continued. Result.

**_At the same time, I couldn't help but think again about why he was so watchful. He'd been there for the attack that no one would tell me about. He knew the threats because he's seen them firsthand. If he was this on edge, even now, then how much danger were we still in? The Alchemists had led me to believe that once we were hidden here at Amberwood, all would be well and it would just become a waiting game. I'd had that very conversation with Rose and tried to convince her of the same. Eddie's attitude was concerning._**

Eddie being heroic and attempting to be awesome...wait, why are you thinking about Eddie so much for?You've mentioned him more than me!" Adrian's tone grew accusing, his eyes narrowing at me.

"That isn't actually me, Adrian. Those aren't my thoughts, no matter how much she sounds like me. And who's the one sounding jealous now?"

I tried to gauge his reaction at my words but apart from looking slightly disgruntled, I couldn't deduce anything else.

_**Jill paused to stare out the window as we got ready for bed.**_

_**"It's so dry here," she murmured, more to herself than o me. "They keep the lawn green, but it's so strange not to feel the moisture in the air." She glanced over at me sheepishly. "'I'm a water user."**_

"Care to expand on that, Sage? Because she so very kindly decided not to?" He looked at me expectantly, but I just jabbed a finger at the book.

"f you carried on reading, you would find that I do! I mean, book Sydney explains!"

Wow, this was so confusing, and clearly, not just to me.

**_"I know," I said, not sure what else to add. She was referring to the magical abilitiesall Moroi possessed. Each Moroi specialised in one of the elements, either of the physical four- earth, air, water, and fire- or the more intangible and psychic element of spirit. Hardly anyone weilded that last one, though I'd heard Adrian was one of the few._**

"'I'm special! I was one of the few, which means I'm pretty unique. Not that I didn't already know that," Adrian finished seriously.

I threw my pillow at him, which he caught and hugged it to his chest. "I am wounded, Sage. Do you really wish to hurt me that much?"

"No, I just want to get this chapter finished. And stop pulling that face!" I was referring to the lost-puppy look he was trying to pull off- and succeeding. His bottom lip was pushed out in a pout, and I had never thought I would say this, but pouting didn't look as ridiculous as I had once thought. Especially not when it was Adrian pulling that face.

"I knew you secretly found me irresistible."

I raised my pillow again and he threw his arms up in a gesture of defeat. "Okay, I'm reading! Don't hurt me!"

I couldn't suppress an eye roll.

**_If Jill couldn't access her magic easily, I wasn't going to be disappointed. Magic was one of those things, like the blood drinking, that served as a s;ap-in-the face reminder that these people I was laughing and eating with were not human._**

**_If I wasn't still exhausted from the drive with Keith, I probably would've lain awake agonizing over the fact that I was sleeping close to a vampire._**

"You didn't seem to mind sleeping next to me," commented Adrian.

"Adrian, in case you can't remember, you aren't a vampire."

His face lit up. "So you don't mind sleeping next to me?"

"You didn't let me finish my sentence. I didn't know I was sleeping next to you; I just fell asleep."

'Because it felt so natural falling asleep next to you; I wouldn't ever fall asleep with Jill next to me at home', I finished off in my head.

Wanting to just get off this topic now, I took the book from Adrian, knowing that Rose was mentioned in the next sentence and I didn't really want to see him stuttering over her name. For purely selfless reasons, obviously.

_**When I'd first met Rose, I hadn't even been able to stay in the same room as hectic escape together had changed that a little, and by the end, I'd been able to let my guard down. Now, some of that old fear came back in the darkness. **_**Vam****pire, vampire. _Sternly, I told myself it was just Jill. I had nothing to worry about. Eventually, fatigue triumphed fear and I fell asleep._**

**_When morning came, I couldn't help looking in the mirror to make sure I had no bite marks or other sign of vampire harm. When I'd finished, I immediately felt foolish. With the difficulty Jill was currently having waking up, it made no sense to imagine her sneaking up on me in the night. As it was, I had a hard time getting her out of the door in time for orientation. She was groggy, with bloodshot eyes, and kept complaining about a headache. I guessed I didn't have to worry about nighttime attacks from my roommate._**

"Jill sounds drunk," Adrian observed. "That's exactly how I feel in the morning after a late night."

He shut up immediately after I glared at him.

"Onto other things...you seem terrified of vampires, but you manage to hide it well."

Congratulations to him for that unbelievably awful attempt at changing the topic.

"There is no way Jill is drunk. She doesn't drink. And book Sydney is afraid of vampires, not me! How many times do I have to remind you?" I folded my arms defiantly, attempting to stare him down. The effect was ruined when he tapped my chin and said,

"You're cute when you're angry."

This didn't do much to lift my mood. I was getting really tired trying to second-guess exactly what each phrase meant and I really didn't want to be awake at 4:00 in the morning trying to figure it out. Adrian had college so I had to finish this chapter soon. It was ridiculous that he was bright and cheery at this time; I had expected him to not be a morning person.

Seeing as I had no reply, I continued reading.

**_Eddie was just telling us about how he hadn't met his roommate yet when a smiling guy with bright blue eyes and reddish hair strode up to them._**

"Not another guy," Adrian grumbled.

**_"Hey there," he said. Up close, I could see a smattering of freckles._**

"You must have been quite close to him," Adrian muttered. "To notice his freckles."

I acted as though I had had no interruptions.

**_"Are you Eddie Melrose?"_**

**_"Yes, I'm-" Eddie had spun around with that guardian efficiency, ready to take on any potential threat. When he saw the newcomer, Eddie went perfectly still. His eyes widened slightly, and whatever he's been about to say faded away._**

**_"I'm Micah Vallence. I'm your roommate- also your orientation leader."_**

**_Eddie was still staring at Micah as though he had seen a ghost. I studied Micah too, wondering what I was missing. He seemed normal to me. Whatever was going on, Jill was also out of the loop because she was regarding Micah with a perfectly ordinary expression, no alarm or surprise._**

"Seems like they have history," I commented.

Adrian nodded his agreement and pointed to the next underlined text. "Start reading from here. You said that was important."

So now he wanted to read? Throwing him a dark look, I carried on at the passage he had indicated.

_**"Well, if you need anything, let me know," he said. "For now, I've gotta get this party started. Talk to you guys later."**_

_**From the way his attention focused solely on her, it was obvious that the "f you need anything" was directed at Jill, and her blush showed that she knew it too. She smiled, holding his gaze for a moment, and then looked away shyly. I would've found it cute, if not for the alarming prospect it presented. Jill was in a school full of humans. It was absolutely out of the question for her to date one, and guys like Micah couldn't be encouraged. Eddie didn't appear to care about the comment, but it seemed to be more because he was still troubled about Micah in general.**_

"Right, I knew you said I couldn't interrupt, but this is important."

"What, Adrian?" I sighed, knowing trivial things also appeared as important to him.

"I know someone called Micah Vallence. I was wondering where I'd heard his name, and now it's come to me. He attends Carlton." Adrian frowned, his forehead creasing in doubt, clearly wondering about what my reaction to his words would be.

But I had no reaction. This entire situation was mind-boggling and unless a witch came and told me exactly why I had this book, I was stuck. Little did I know that my wish would soon come true. I carried on reading, regardless of what Adrian had said. Sure, it was important news, but there was nothing I could do for now. How was I supposed to come up with answers when I was so confused myself?

Adrian took over reading, and I only guessed why after he spoke the first word. He didn't loosen his hold on the book either much to my dismay.

**_How funny, I thought, that it was easier for Eddie and Jill to adapt to the situation than it was for me. They were in a strange environment, with a different race, but were still among familiar things, like cafeterias and lockers. They slipped right into the roles and responsibilities and procedures with no difficulty. Meanwhile, despite having travelled and lived all over the world, I felt out of place in what was for everyone else an ordinary sitting._**

"I'm just going to skip to the part I want to read..." Adrian said, smirking slightly as he held the book from my grasp.

_**" I heard her family might be moving to Anchorage." We were at orientation lunch, and a couple of freshman girls sitting near me were discussing a friend of theirs who hadn't shown up today.**_

_**The other girl's eyes widened. "Seriously? I would die if I had to move there."**_

"Adrian, give me the book!" I shouted, knowing what was coming.

"No! I want to read it, and anyway, you couldn't get it even if you tried," he said, standing up and holding it over his head. Damn his stupid height!

_**"I don't know," I mused, moving my food around my plate. "With all the sun and IV rays here, it seems like Anchorage might actually provide a longer life span. You don't need as much sunblock, so it's a more economical choice as well."**_

_**I'd thought my comment was helpful, but when I looked up, I was met with gaping stares. It was obvious from the looks the girls were giving me that I probably couldn't have picked a more weirder comment.**_

At this, Adrian burst into laughter, still clutching the book in his hands. His laugh was raucous, his eyes glinting in amusement as he looked down at me. Oh no. He wasn't going to laugh at me and get away with it.

I leaped at him, and the sudden surprise of it gave me the advantage; we toppled to the the floor, Adrian underneath me and me holding up the book in victory. Jumping back onto the sofa, I skipped to the next side, knowing that Adrian would inevitably take his seat next to me.

I was right.

However, his face was closed off, his eyes turning inward and thoughtful. From the way he kept a careful distance from me, I believed I had done something to offend him but I had no idea what. He kept his stiff composure all the way I read the book.

_**I moved as fast as I could and nearly bumped into two girls rounding a corner.**_

_**"Oh!" I exclaimed, feeling like an idiot. "I'm sorry-I'm late for my fitting-"**_

_**One of them laughed good-naturedly. She was dark-skinned with an athletic build and wavy black hair. The other girl had blond hair a shade lighter than mine that she wore in a high ponytail. Both of them had the easy assurance of those who knew their way around this world. These weren't new students.**_

_**"Mrs Delaney always takes longer than she thinks she will with the fittings," the blond girl said knowingly. "Every year, it's-" Her jaw dropped, her words freezing up for a few moments. "Where...where did you get that?"**_

_**I had no clue what she meant, but the other girl soon noticed and leaned closer to me. "That's amazing! Is that what they're doing this year?"**_

I could see Adrian looking at me curiously from my peripheral vision, but he looked away quickly when I returned his gaze. Trying to ignore the sudden butterflies in my stomach, I said, "Listen carefully now. I think this bit is important."

_**"Your tattoo," explained the blond. I must have still looked clueless. "Where'd you get it?"**_

_**"Oh. That." My fingers absentmindedly touched my cheek. "In, um, South Dakota. Where I'm from."**_

"So, book Sydney has a tattoo of a lily on her cheek, which is important?" Adrian said, clearly perplexed.

"No, it's not that bit. It's what they say afterwards," I replied. His stiff posture still hadn't relaxed though and it was making me nervous. I tapped my fingers on the corner of the book absentmindedly as I continued down the page.

**_"I guess that's why I've never seen it," said the dark-haired girl." I thought Nevermore was doing something new."_**

**_"Nevermore?" I asked._**

**_The girls exchanged silent glances, and some message passed between them. "You're new, right? What's your name?" asked the blond girl. "I'm Julia. This is Kristin."_**

**_"Have lunch with us at East tomorrow, okay? We'll explain everything."_**

I attempted to skip ahead to the next side, but Adrian caught my fingers between his, stopping me.

"Continue reading," he said. "I thought this bit was important."

Oh no. Did he know what the next side was about?

I shook my hand from his, ignoring the tingles that were shooting through my arm and attempted to turn the page again.

He groaned, frustrated and took the book from me. "What are you trying to hide from me, Sage?"

Please don't read it, please don't read it.

He started reading and I tried to brace myself from the humiliation that was sure to come.

**"_What size d you wear, dear?" she asked, catching sight of me in the doorway._**

**_"Two."_**

**_A number of articles were produced: skirts, pants, blouses, and sweaters. I doubted the sweaters would see much wear, unless a freak apocalyptic blizzard hit Palm Springs._**

**_Watching me button a white blouse, Mrs Delaney tsked, "I think you need a size four."_**

**_I froze mid-button. "I wear a two."_**

I could see Adrian's confusion increase as he read aloud, his eyebrows raising high and his hand constantly running through his hair.

I couldn't speak, knowing for sure what he was thinking. I had put on weight.

**_"Oh, yes, you can fit into them but I think you'll be more comfortable in a four." She handed over a new stack and laughed. "Don't look so mortified, girl!" A four's nothing. You're still a twig."_**

**_Despite my many protests, I was still sent away with the size-four clothing. I rode back to my dorm, dejected, and found Jill lying on her bed and reading._**

**_"What size did you get?" I asked,. I was kind of a glutton for punishment._**

**_"Two."_**

**_A twinge of annoyance shot through me as I hung my uniforms in the closet beside hers. I felt huge by comparison. How were all theses Moroi so skinny? Genetics? Low-carb blood diet? Maybe it was just because they were all so tall._**

**_All I knew was that whenever I spent time around them, I felt frumpy and awkward and wanted to eat less._**

Adrian's suddenly normal voice shocked me out of my trance and I looked away from him, sure of the ridicule that was about to follow.

"Sage! What is wrong with you?" His velvet voice chastising me made me shrink back even more as I replied. But my voice was strong and steady. I was not going to appear weak.

"I- I tried to lose the weight, Adrian. But Jill is always skinnier. But I'm going to keep trying."

He slammed his hand on the piece of sofa separating us. "What the fuck, Sage? Why the obsession with losing weight? You're beautiful as you are! You don't need to lose any more weight; gaining some weight may be better for you! I don't care what that dick of a father has to say about that!"

Did he just call me beautiful? For some weird reason, that was all I could think about. But he was still wrong. I did need to lose weight otherwise I wouldn't be perfect and my father would never accept me.

Adrian groaned into his hands, shaking his head, his chestnut locks falling in perfect disarray. "You're not even listening to me."

"I am listening to you!"

How else would I know that you had called me beautiful?

"Well, I'm not going to give up on you," he said, determined. But what exactly about, I wasn't sure. His words didn't exactly make sense to me.

Picking the book up, I started on the next part.

**_"You don't think Micah's dangerous, do you?"_**

**_Jill shrugged. "He didn't seem dangerous to me, but I'm no guardian. If Eddie did think he was some kind of threat, it seems like he'd be acting differently. More aggressive. He mostly seems nervous around Micah. Almost-but not quite- afraid. And that's weirdest of all because guardians never look scared. Not that Eddie's technically a guardian. But you know what I mean."_**

**_"What do you mean Eddie's technically not a guardian? Isn't he assigned to protect you here?"_**

**_"Yes he is, but well...it's kind of weird."_**

**_"He killed a Moroi that attacked Vasilisa, right?"_**

**_"Yeah," said Jill, lost in her own memories. "It was self defense-well, and defense of Lissa, but everyone was shocked at him killing a Moroi. Guardians aren't supposed to do that. Anyway, he was put on I got...attacked, Eddie helped protect me. Lissa said it was stupid to keep him off duty when he could be helpful and that considering Moroi were behind the attack too, she said everyone was going to have to get used to the idea of Moroi being the enemy. Hans finally agreed and sent Eddie here with me."_**

"So, Eddie isn't a totally badass guardian, but he is still assigned to protect Jill. And the 'royal family' were stabbed in the back by their own kind."

"Pretty much. I think the betrayal thing might be important," I replied, smiling slightly to myself, glad he had not only forgotten his earlier outburst, but he also seemed to have calmed down; he was leaning towards me again, and he didn't look tense like he had earlier.

_**"What if they notice? What if someone finds out the truth about me?"**_

_**"You did fine at orientation," I assured her. 'Just don't show your fangs. And besides, I'm pretty good at convincing people they didn't see what think they saw.**_

"I bet you are," Adrian said, grinning at his own private joke.

**_The grateful expression on her face reminded me of Zoe._**

I looked over to the corner of the room where 'ghost Zoe' as I had come to think of her, was smiling. Looking back over to the book but not before shooting a quick smile back, I carried on.

_**They were so alike in so many ways, shy and uncertain-yet intensely fierce and desperately wanting to prove themselves. I'd tried to protect Zoe-and only failed in her eyes. Now, being here for Jill made me feel conflicted. In some ways, I could make up for what I hadn't been able to do for Zoe. Yet even as I thought that, some inner voice kept saying, Jill is not your sister. She's a vampire. This is business.**_

I think I already knew what that meant. I had always been close to all my sisters, but it was like I could never add up to how perfect Carly had been. After Zoe had passed, I felt a stronger sense of responsibility towards Jill because I knew life was too short to make mistakes.

Jill was a vampire. Adrian was a vampire. And book Sydney was a human, not even related to Jill. They always got on more than real Jill and I did, and I sometimes found myself feeling jealous that my _own sister _got on with Adrian more than me.

So yes, I understood that part very well.

"Aren't you going to continue reading, Sage?"

"Nope, that's the end of chapter five. I think I need to have some well-earned coffee." I stood just as he did and made my way to the kitchen. Adrian had bought me coffee and a top of the range machine as well; when I had asked him how he had got the money, he had just said that he'd 'got some spare from my dad'.

And then he had closed off like he did whenever the subject of his father came up.

I yawned and stumbled over to the machine, turning it on carefully, ensuring that my clumsy fingers didn't ruin it.

"Sage, are you sure you shouldn't just go to sleep? I've got college so there's no point for me, but aren't you tired?" Adrian stood directly behind me, a hand on my arm, supporting me.

I leaned back into him, almost afraid that I _was_ going to collapse. "We are never reading at such a stupid time again. Afternoon or evening, but never morning."

He nodded and I felt his breath burn my neck. Gasping, I pushed forward, his arms dropping to his side immediately.

"Sorry," I apologised immediately.

"Not your fault, Sage." I could see him trying to act normal, but his smirk seemed forced and I wondered what he was trying to hide. Yawning again, I turned to him.

"Maybe you're right. Maybe going to sleep is the best thing for me."

I started walking out, pulling my hair into a band, but hetutted, capturing my attention. "Aren't you even going to wish me good luck?"

"It's your second day of college, not your first, Adrian. But good luck."

I had never felt so incoherent in my life, but I wasn't at my house so it was fine. I had never felt so free to be who I wanted to be without dad looking constantly over my shoulder. "Oh, and try to find about more about this Micah Vallence at your college. See if he's like book Micah, if he acts weird around you like he knows who you are. Maybe we're not the only ones with a book."

Waving a final goodbye over my shoulder, I made my way to my room, shaking my head at Hopper who was curled up on my pillow, purring contentedly. Adrian would never learn; once Hopper knew he could get away with murder, we wouldn't be able to discipline him but clearly Adrian hadn't listened.

I wore my shorts and top and climbed into bed after moving Hopper over slightly, glad to finally be able to close my eyes and get some rest.

But it seemed as though sleep wasn't my friend today.

My phone rang, alerting me out of bed. Upon seeing the caller iD, I flicked it open and pressed it to my ear, wasting no time in niceties.

"Jill? What's wrong?"

Her breath came in short gasps, her voice muffled, indicating straightaway that she had been crying.

"Sydney? Keith tried to come into my room today. I'm scared, Sydney."

**I hope you enjoyed it! Thank you once again to all my followers, reviewers, and favouriters; your support honestly means the world to me, eespecially when I get a review on a chapter I posted a while ago! You know who you are, you lovely people!**

_**My PMing function isn't working...well, not today. It's 1am so I haven't tried now because I'm going sleep (like Sydney was trying to! Lol, I'm a psycho!) so to anyone who has PMed me, I am sorry for the late responses! I still love you all!**_

**Important question: did you llike the layout of this chapter...the length of quotes (I didn't write the full chapter of Bloodlines out as there was no point) and the length of normal sydrian?**

**I have a proposal... what do you think of one Reading Chapter, and then one normal chapter, when the normal plot goes on?! It'll mean the chapters aren't ridiculously long and I can concentrate on both parts equally...especially the sydrian you all want! **

**Or was this chapter fine? :S**

**CherrySlushLover**

**Xxx**


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